


The Grey Valley

by InvaildHuman



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: (kinda), BAMF Lily Evans Potter, Child Abuse, Dark Harry, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Master of Death Harry Potter, Medical Inaccuracies, Morally Grey Harry Potter, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Powerful Harry Potter, Vengeful Lily Evans Potter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:24:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 27,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22099576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InvaildHuman/pseuds/InvaildHuman
Summary: The freshly six year old came to a conclusion as he drew his final wet breath, ‘It’s because life is misery’. His vision faded into black, eyelids closing for a final time. He surrendered himself to death with open arms, life was pain, but hopefully in death he could find he only peace he has ever known in his short life.
Relationships: ???, Wouldn't YOU like to know
Comments: 25
Kudos: 117





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Major shout out to my beta Mason, I legitimately would have given up on this fic way earlier without his help!
> 
> I have pretty much the whole story planned out, but I didn't want to spoil things with the tags lol. I'll be attempting to update this as much as I can, but I'll also be doing other fics. 2020 is the year for posting, and I'm going tot stick to it as long as I can.

_ August 12, 1986 _

Harry gasped in a saturated wheezing breaths, heaving and fighting for each inhale and exhale. He was laying limply on the floor of his cramped and dark cupboard, his body mangled and broken. His Uncle had gone too far, he was beyond furious after being passed up for a promotion by a younger more handsome man. Vernon had bellowed profanities and spat insults while smashing his meaty fists into Harry’s small body, taking his anger out on his nephew. His breath reeked of alcohol after the hours he spent at the pub before finally deciding to unleash his stewing anger

Harry had been beaten many times before, but this was the only time he was truly terrified. He knew he was about to die. One of Vernon’s punches had broken several of his ribs, rupturing his lung. Harry felt tears in his eyes as he tried to fight for another minute of life, why him? What did he do to deserve this, to be killed at only 6 and abused his whole life? Why did his parents have to leave him all alone with these monsters? Why do his Aunt and Uncle hate him so much? Why was it him that had to suffer time and again? _ Why? _

The freshly six year old came to a conclusion as he drew his final wet breath, ‘It’s because life is misery’. His vision faded into black, eyelids closing for a final time. He surrendered himself to death with open arms, life was pain, but hopefully in death he could find he only peace he has ever known in his short life.

He therefore confused when only moments later he opened his eyes once more, looking out from the peak of a grey valley. The land was a monotone of greys, whites, and blacks, like something out of an old photograph. A land full of death and decay, but full of blooming ominous flowers and still colorless water at the base of the valley. It was disturbing, yet beautiful, he felt like he could stare out at the serene valley for years happily. 

It only took him a moment to recognize the feeling of someone touching his skin, he quickly scrambled away, his brain screaming to take cover because contact was never a good thing. He whipped around to face a woman adorned in a black sweeping dress, with a bone white bracelets on top that wrap up the black fabric like vines. Her hair was long and and angry red, falling down her shoulders like rivers of freshly shed blood. Her skin was pale, almost bone white, but what caught him off guard the most were her eyes. They were as green as the most precious of emerald, yet somehow _ more _, the color something otherworldly. A color he saw in the scant amount of times he has looked in the mirror.

The woman smiled, it was gentle and understanding, yet pained at the same time. “Hello Harlynn.” she whispered, like she was afraid her voice would break this fragile atmosphere. Her voice was as otherworldly as her eyes, something so sweet and melodious that you couldn’t help but listen like a siren’s call, yet just as deadly as siren waiting on the other end. Harry blinked in confusion, he had only found out his name wasn’t ‘Freak Dursley’ but ‘Harry Potter’ last year and yet this woman was calling him something different.

“Who are you?” he asked, surprised when his voice sounded different to his own ears. It had that same honeyed bewitching tone as the woman, pitched just the slightest bit lower than it had been this morning. The woman smiled at his reaction or question, Harry couldn’t quite tell, too caught up in his surprise at the revelation. 

“My name is Lily, and I am your mother Harlynn.” she told him, her voice quivering the slightest amount. Harry felt his brain come to a screeching halt, his mother. The woman who was meant to love him was right in front of him. His young yet smart mind could infer that she too had died, and not abandoned him as Dudley had teased scornfully. His eyes filled with tears once more and before he even realized it, he had pounced on the woman- his mother -his small scrawny body holding on to her for dear life.

His Mother held him tightly, her warmth seeping through his skin. He couldn’t help letting out a sob, all the feelings of loneliness and pain washed away by the crashing flood of love being sent toward him in his Mother’s fierce embrace. When his Mum reluctantly pulled away, he could see tears in her eyes too, and a beautiful smile he couldn’t help but return. She cupped his cheek, her thumb rubbing up and down with an adoring expression on her face that took his breath away. He had always dreamed of someone looking at him that way, and now he had it, and it made his heart just about explode with joy. 

“You look so much like your Father, Harlynn. Yet, you also look nothing like him.” She observed, a smile on her face. “I’d say you take after me and my family line more than your Father, all you really have is his hair. Even then your hair color is more like my father’s than James’.” she remarked. Harry clung to her words, desperate to know every detail he could soak up about his parents.

“Was that my Father’s name?” he asked. A dark expression passed over Lily’s face, it would have scared him if it wasn’t for the fact it was so clearly anger _for _ him rather than _at _ him. He once again couldn’t help but marvel at the fact he had a mother, one that clearly loved him.

“That damn bastard sister of mine. Oh, when she dies she will be damned to eternal torment.” she growled, and Harry felt strangely happy at her promise. Which the words most definitely were. He was glad that his horse-faced Aunt would finally pay for all the times she stood by while Vernon beat him watching with cold eyes. His mother’s face smoothed out once more, but he could see that dark look still lurking in her eyes. “Yes, your Father’s name was James. James Potter, we went to school together and soon got married afterwards.” she explained.

Harry- no Harlynn crawled forward slightly and hesitantly sat in his Mother’s lap. The woman smiled brilliantly and pulled him close, her fingers running through his unruly obsidian ink black hair. His hair color was so strange it had gotten him weird looks and many painful hair cuts from his Aunt, it was darker than most blacks could hope of being. Purer than any pigment could hope to recreate, he loved and hated his nest of black hole hair. 

“That is a story for a bit later. For now, I wish to tell you why we are here.” She explained softly, her free hand gesturing towards the brilliant sprawling valley that had no seeming end. He sat up a little more, curious to know what she had to say yet disappointed he wouldn’t hear about his father. She gave him a knowing smile like she could tell exactly exactly what he was thinking, giving his hair a ruffle, sending the already messy hair into utter disarray. Lily smiled before picking up where she left off.

“Our family originated from Greece. More specifically Ancient Greece, we are in fact the oldest wizarding line of Purebloods still in existence.” Harlynn’s head spun with questions, but he didn’t open his mouth, knowing that his Mum had more to say. “Our family is very important for we have been tasked with an important task. There is a story of three Deathly Hallows owned by the Peverell line, but they hold mere trinkets compared to what the Evaristus line holds. We, are Death’s Avatars. At the end of our lives, we become the new body for Death to continue Its work. The Peverell have a cheap imitation of the true mastery over Death Evaristus’ hold. And you, my dear, can’t die just yet. You are too young to take over Death’s soul, so you must return to the land of the living.”

Her words send a bolt of panic through him. He didn’t want to leave! He didn’t want to go back to life, that cruel world full of misery. Death was a beautiful and peaceful thing with his Mum, and he didn’t want to go back to Life after experiencing. “No! I only just met you, I don’t want to lose you again!” he blurted out, panicking out of his mind. 

Lily shushed him, running her fingers through his hair and holding him closer. “This isn’t for good. And now that you are touched by Death you can visit this realm anytime, and I will stay close to you. I don’t want to leave you anymore than you want to Harlynn, believe me. It pains me but it must be done. I’ll always be with you though, should you ever be in danger just say my name and I will appear. Apollinaris is my formal name, okay? Just as yours is Harlynn. Names have power Harlynn, ‘Harry’ is meant to protect your true self.” she explained, deviating from the topic slightly. Harlynn nodded in understanding, his heartbeat calming down after her explanation. 

He also sort of understood what she meant about the name thing. ‘Harry’ had always felt wrong when teachers had called his name, felt detached from the word being spoken. ‘Harlynn’ sung to his soul, like it was perfectly molded for him alone. Whenever it fell from his mother’s lips he would feel this warm fire spread through him. He burrowed into his mother’s chest, just wanting to bask in her warmth for as long as he could before he had to go back to Life. He could help but puff up like an angry cat at the thought of living once more, maybe it’s because that stuff his Mum said about being Death’s Avatar?

Harlynn felt his eyes close against his will, the last thing he felt being the soft press of his mother’s lips to the crown of his head. 

-

Harlynn gasped awake on the dingy floor of his cupboard, revolted by the world he was within. The air prickled against his skin uncomfortably and the colors were all wrong, he wanted nothing more than to die again and return to the peace of death.** _ “Ah ah,”_ ** his mother’s voice chastised from within his head, ** _“You have to grow up for at the very least 21 years before you can die. Otherwise, you’ll be booted back out to life, at that age your magic will be at its peak and finally strong enough to house Death.”_ ** she explained.

Harlynn pouted, put out by the thought of having to wait 15 years before he could die. That was simply unfair. He could hear his Mum’s melodious laugh in the back of his head, ** _“Believe me, at first it was hard to continue living knowing what Death tasted like. But then I met James and had you, and I wanted nothing more than to live as long as I could. Funny how what you desire never pans out on this twisted plane.”_ ** she remarked, her tone becoming bitter at the end. Harlynn thinks he can understand the feeling to some degree, Life was violent and angry, it was raging and loud. Death was peace and quiet, and sweet end to a harsh and cruel beginning. It was soothing and calm in the Valley, and he couldn’t help but yearn for the fields of dead grass and his Mother’s arms.

Harlynn hesitant started to get up, immeasurably surprised when his ribs no longer hurt. In fact nothing hurt all that much, just faintly and easily ignorable. He pulled his shirt up and saw fading bruises, looking as if it had been weeks since the beating rather than hours. His lips pulled up into a sneer, a snarl passing his lips unbidden. He couldn’t wait for the Dursley’s to die and suffer eternally within death, they would never know the peace of Death’s embrace just as he never got to experience peace in life. His mother was angry too, he could feel the blast of rage from the back of his mind. ** _“You don’t have to wait for them to die to make them suffer, My dear.”_ ** she said softly, her tone cruel and full of ruthlessness yet still that beautiful melodious sound. The contradiction between her tone and words made Harlynn giggle, agreeing with his mother.

“What can I do to them?” he asked internally. He was surprised when within seconds his Mother materialized into his cupboard, the small space stretching strangely as if the laws of reality didn’t exist anymore to account for her height, Apollinaris or Lily as she was more commonly referred to as, sat on the dingy bed primly. She looked utterly out of place in this realm, like something that doesn’t belong, too pure to be within the darkness of Life. She smiled and patted the space beside her on the bed, beckoning him to sit beside her which he happily did.

“Before you can take revenge on the Dursley’s you must learn magic. You’re a wizard like me and your father, Harlynn. This means that you have been blessed by Lady Magic to have her power in life and death. Those strange occurrences your obscene ‘family’ punished you for were accidental magic, I’ll teach you how to properly wield magic.” She explained, opening her hand and conjuring a Lily of the Valley- smiling at the drooping white bell shaped flowers -to hover a few centimeters over her hand. It promptly decayed the second it touched the palm of her hand, shriveling up as if it hadn’t seen light or water in years despite having been perfectly healthy only moments earlier.

Harlynn carefully took it out of his Mother’s open palm, examining the delicate flower. It was just as beautiful in death as it was in life, he placed it gently on the floor in a corner with the rest of his treasures before turning to his mother, practically vibrating in excitement. “When can we start?” he asked, still somewhat thrown off by the changes to his voice. His mother smiled brilliantly, and offered her palm once more. “Why not now?” she asked, a hint of mischievousness dancing in her tone. 

He gladly took her hand and suddenly there was an elaborate door in the cupboard, also defying what should be possible of reality. Lily stood and brushed off the front of her dress, opening the door with her free hand and stepping into it with Harlynn in hand. The other side wasn’t the Valley as had been expecting, instead it was a field of wheat, clearly in the realm of the living. He looked around at the brilliant blue sky with lazily drifting clouds and grudgingly admitted that life too could be pretty, but never as much as death was.

Lily looked out around the field and took in a deep breath before sitting down and taking Harlynn with her, the unexpected movement throwing him off and sending him falling onto his bum painfully. His Mother gave him an apologetic smile and the pain was gone along with the faint twinges of pain his bruises gave when the coarse hand-me-downs he wore brushed against them. He saw his mother’s nose scrunch up with distaste when he pulled on the collar of Dudley’s castoffs to look down at healed skin. 

“After this we’re going for a shopping spree with that Horse and Whale’s money.” She announced, Harlynn bursting out laughing, Lily gave him another smile before she sat up a little straighter, “Okay, let’s get started on our first magic lesson. Before we start with the practical stuff you have to learn the history.” Harlynn pouted at the fact he couldn’t learn magic right that moment, but he didn’t argue. He’d never be so ungrateful as to complain at his Mother the way Dudley did to that horse he calls a mother. 

“There are 8 Deities in charge of our world. Life, Magic, Time, Fate, Order, Destiny, Chaos, and Death. Life, Death, and Lady Magic are the only three that really preside over humans while the rest work on a bigger scale. Lady Magic is the mother to all us Magicals period, she is the start of every bloodline, and those called Pureblood can track their ancestry back to her. She also introduces new blood into the mix so that we don’t die out in the form of Muggleborns. Magic is a gift from our Lady, so it must be treated like the gift it is. Magic is not to be used as a toy, but something of great value bestowed upon you.” Lily lectured, a fire in her voice as she passionately spoke.

Harlynn nodded along, a sense of awe in his chest. That thing that had protected him his whole life was a gift from his Lady, as his mom called the deity, the one that magic comes from. Lily graced him with a proud smile when she saw he understood the importance of his magic unlike others. She gave him a kiss on his forehead and pulled him into a tight hug. “You already understand a concept some Wizards in their 100’s still haven’t learned, you’re brilliant my Harlynn.” She praised.

Harlynn swallowed back the thick feeling in his throat at the praise and pulled back, grinning happily. Lily pulled him back into her lap, sitting as they did in the Valley, carding her finger through is hair. “Death as I mentioned before, chose the Evaristus line to be his vessels and practitioners. Back in Ancient Greece our family had been a Cult of Hades, devoted followers who swore their loyalty and faith towards Death. Death was interested, so he asked his sister Lady Magic, to make them his. From then on, our family became Necromancers and Death’s vessel. You won’t find our name anywhere in the Magical world, we keep our names both first and last hidden for a reason. If someone has power over us, they hold power over Death. If Death loses physical form for good, things can go into disarray. While It prefers not residing within a body at all times, It still needs one to use magic, thus the need for our family.

“Names have power, Harlynn. Magicals today have forgotten, but giving away your name is a sacred thing. You are Harry to everyone outside your family, not even friends should know your true name. It gives them a power over you that is dangerous when you are next in line to be a vessel for Death. I didn’t even tell our closest friends your true name, only James knew.” she warned, her voice serious. Harlynn nodded, taking his Mother’s words to heart. 

“Now, let’s get on to actual magic.” Lily said happily, a total difference from her serious demeanor earlier. Harlynn grinned and listened attentively to her every word as she began explaining theory and showing him the practical side of things. She always made sure he perfectly understood before allowing him to begin molding his magic into a spell. She explained that wandless magic is harder to learn that one with a wand, but it would make him stronger and give him better control over his core in the long run.

It was difficult work but it made him feel alive, like his every nerve was electricity and his core was the lighting striking at it repeatedly. It was exhilarating, a few hours later when the sun began to set that Lily finally called a stop to the lesson. They once again walked through the intricately carved and decorated door and arrived back in the cupboard. Harlynn collapsed bonelessly onto the bed, exhausted after hours of hard work. It was more fun than he could describe though, and now that he had- well not exactly unlocked, but been made aware of his core, he could feel its presence at all times.

Lily pulled the ratty blanket over him, tucking him in and pressing a kiss to his forehead beside an odd scar he’s had his whole life. “Sweet dreams, Harlynn. Tomorrow we’ll go shopping with that Whale’s money and I’ll teach you concealment and space expanding charms.” she promised, her soft voice helping urge him into sleep. It was only moments later that he fell into Morpheus’ embrace, more happy than he had ever been in his short life, and happy to wake up the next day.

-

_ August 13, 1986 _

Harlynn’s pleasant dream of wind swaying through long blades of grey grass, with white and black flower petals drifting lazily through the air along with it, was interrupted by a harsh banging on the cupboard door. “Wake up, Freak! I’m hungry.” Dudley complained, his meaty fist slamming against the door and making it rattle. Harlynn scowled, wishing his cousin would shut his whining mouth, get off his lazy fat arse, and do something for himself for once. He sat up on his bed, slightly scared yesterday had been a dream, and he’d have to go back to his miserable life. His fears were dashed when he saw the wilted Lily of the Valley sitting innocently with the other treasures he has managed to nick from the Dursleys or outside. He was surprised to find he could see clearly without his glasses, in fact he could see better now without them. 

He smiled, ignoring the slams and grating voice. Harlynn felt her presence in his mind before he heard her voice ** _“Good Morning, Darling.”_ ** Lily chirped. Harlynn smiled and returned the sentiment before finally deciding to get out of bed, he opened the cupboard door and Dudley was there with his fat fist still in the air ready to smash it against the door once more. His pudgy face was twisted into an ugly scowl, “Make breakfast, Freak.” he demanded.

Harlynn looked as if he was thinking it over, “No, I don’t feel like doing it today.” he said simply, his voice rolling in a tone that it hadn’t before. Dudley looked shocked, if it was because of his voice or words he didn’t know and didn’t stick around to find out. Opening a palm, Harlynn silently summoned the Walrus’ wallet with Accio and snatched all of the bills out of it before tossing it to Dudley and walking to the front door. He’d opened it and left with nobody trying to stop him, Dudley must have been too shocked to rat him out.

He walked briskly, not nearly as scared of the consequences of being caught as he would have been yesterday, but still cautious. Once he deemed himself a safe distance away, Harlynn threw his head back and let out a loud cackle. Oh, Dudley’s face had been priceless, his peanut sized brain trying to work out the word ‘no’ like it was an algebra question. It wasn’t long before another set of laughter joined his own, when he looked to his side he saw his Mum in her usual attire, face lit up in mirth. 

She gave him a sharp smile, but it was tapered by the wistful edge. “Your father would have done the same thing in your place.” Lily said, and suddenly Harlynn was swallowing back a lump in his throat. The harsh reminder that he knew next to nothing about his parents made him desperate, they weren't useless drunks or people who abandoned him. He wanted to know who his parents _ truly _ were. Or are in the case of is Mother.

“What was Dad like?” he asked quietly, not wanting to upset his Mother. She smiled down at him, grabbing one of his hands and started walking back down the sidewalk. “He was a prankster at heart, always getting into trouble. He and his friends were the terrors of the school, I was always so annoyed with them when I was younger. James had a crush on me through, he persistently asked me out even when I shot him down repeatedly. It was in our 7th year when he finally grew up, he’d been given the responsibilities of Head Boy and matured. When he asked me out the next time, I said yes.” Lily told him, her smile wistful as she recounted the past.

“After that your Father was far more mature, while he was still a prankster he wasn’t nearly as childish or cruel as he had been. He went straight into the Auror academy as soon as school ended and when he graduated he rose quickly through the ranks with his best friend, Sirius, by his side. The two of them were thick as thieves, always scheming and getting into trouble together.” Her happy smile fell, “Sirius was framed for our deaths, he was supposed to be your guardian in our place. You were never meant to go to my sister’s cruel hands, he would have loved and cherished you.” 

Harlynn’s heart squeezed painfully at the fact he could have had a loving childhood but didn’t because someone framed his father’s best friend. “Who did it? And where is Sirius?” he asked, his tone dark with anger. He’d make whoever did this pay, not only did they kill his parents that clearly loved him, but they also took away the only family that would have loved him in his parents' place.

Lily snarled, her beautiful face morphing into one of utter fury, her fiery red hair almost seemed to burn hotter in her rage. “_ Peter Pettigrew. _” she spat, the name sounding like a curse and her voice dripping with venom. “The filthy rat sold us out and blamed Sirius, running away from the blame. Sirius has been rotting in the worst prison in the world due to Peter, when that miserable whelp dies-” her voice trailed off to an angry inhuman growl. 

Harlynn was just as angry as his mother, his tiny hand squeezing into hers. “He’ll pay for it, I’ll make sure he does it in life and you, in death.” he says quietly, his voice dark. Lily gave him a feral smile, her eyes glimmering with bloodlust. “I like the way you think, Sweetheart.” she purred, her melodious voice lower than usual. Harlynn sent an equally feral smile up at his Mum, squeezing her hand again, silently promising her that they would get their revenge. Lily smiled down at him, her face soft and loving as she swung the linked hands between them.

They walked down the street and it wasn’t long before they made it to a more populated area. Harlynn made the mistake of speaking to his Mother once around others, and the looks strangers gave him made him hesitate to try again. Lily, seeing this, lead them into an alleyway. Harlynn gave her a curious look, wondering why they were there. She gave him a secretive smile before letting go of his hand and closing her eyes. Harlynn only had a second to mourn the loss of his Mother’s hand in his own before he noticed the magic in the air.

Lily’s appearance shimmered, fluctuating for several minutes. Finally, it settled, her skin gaining a healthy flush and her hair dulling to a more natural red, and her clothes changing from something unplaceable to any one time to something more modern. She gave him a wide grin, and Harlynn noticed freckles peppering her skin now, taking his hand once more. When they exited the alleyway, Lily turned heads. Men and women alike unable to help their eyes following after her as she passed by.

Harlynn grinned wide, his cheeks hurting from how far his smile was stretched. His eyes were wide with curiosity as he walked down the strip mall with his Mum, he’s never been to a shop before. The only time he left his cupboard was to clean, do garden chores, and go to school. He’s also never owned anything of his own, all of it being Dudley’s castoffs or things he could pillage from around himself. Lily’s expression darkens once more, and Harlynn wonders if she could hear his thoughts since she always seems to know what he was thinking.

Lily led them into a child’s clothing store and from a cursory glance he could tell it was expensive, her mouth was set into a stubborn frown. So instead Harlynn looked around in curiosity, he’s never had clothes of his own before, he wonders what kind of clothes there were. Lily brought them to the boys section and the two browse around, Harlynn found himself liking the trousers but never any of the shirts or jumpers he saw. He was crossing an aisle when his eyes caught on something, a shirt with long full sleeves and a slit vertically down in the center, it was a plain black with a couple of bows on it but Harlynn still felt drawn to it. He picked the hanger of and looked at the shirt more closely, the little golden buttons with a white pattern on it making his lips quirk up.

Looking around, he didn’t see his Mother, but what he did was the large sign above his head indicating he was in the girls section. Harlynn blanched, quickly putting the shirt back and speed walking back over to the boys section trying to put the whole experience out of his mind. He was unlucky however, as his Mum materialized with the shirt in hand between one breath and the next a small frown on her face. “Why did you put it back, Harlynn? I could clearly see you liked it.”

Harlynn immediately shook his head, “No I didn’t. That’s girls clothes, I just thought it looked dumb and wanted to see if more closely.” he lied weakly, feeling bad for even attempting to lie to his Mum’s face. Lily rose an eyebrow, her expression screaming disbelief, “Riiight.” she said drawing out the ‘I’ with narrowed eyes, “I hope you don’t mind trying on this stupid shirt, I think it looks rather lovely and want to see you in it.” 

Harlynn tried to act like he was grudgingly doing it because his Mum had asked, when really he was happy to do so. Looking at himself in the dressing room mirror, Harlynn was quite startled with the changes to his appearance. The roots of his hair seem to be the same blood red as his Mum’s only a darker hue, he wonders if that means when it grows out his hair will be completely red from the top down. His skin was paler than before, and some of the more visible scars across his chest and back were more faded than they had been. His ribs also didn’t stick out quite as much and his fingers were no longer crooked from being broken then healing incorrectly.

Seeing himself in the dark black blouse over his pale skin with dark red trousers, Harlynn felt like he was seeing who he truly was for the very first time. Harlynn opened the fitting room door and his Mum immediately smiled, “You look wonderful, Harlynn. It really suits you.” She told him, her voice coated with love. He smiled back, his heart fluttering with the complement and freely given love from his Mum. She patted the space beside her, and Harlynn sat by her as asked.

“Now Harlynn, I want you to know I will never judge you. You are my precious son and I will accept who you choose to become and what you decide to do with open arms. Don’t be afraid to tell me things, and don’t be afraid to be different. Being different is what makes you special, it’s why you are the only person in the entire history of the Earth to be exactly the way you are. Don’t live with regret Harlynn, because once you pass from this world permanently there will be no going back to life.” Lily lectured, for voice stern trying to drill it into his head that she will love him no matter what.

Harlynn smiled wetly, hugging his Mother around the middle, his scrawny little arms wrapped around her stomach. She smiled softly at him, petting his hair with gentle hands. Their little family moment was broken up by someone clearing their throat, Harlynn looked up and saw a man. He was looking at his Mother in a way that sent his hackles up, completely ignoring Harlynn like he wasn’t there. 

Lily put on a bland smile, all the previous love and adoration on her face evaporating into thin air. “Can I help you?” she asked, her voice somewhat dry, not liking time with her son being interrupted. The man gave her a slimy smile, his eyes clearly roving up and down her body. “Why don’t you leave the brat behind and come have a little fun with me?” he said licking his lips, leaning forward into Lily’s personal space, “I’ll show you a good time.” 

Lily flashed him a dangerous smile, the temperature in the room seeming to plunge rapidly. The man was clearly too stupid to notice the darkening atmosphere or predatory smile, “Oh, why would I leave my son behind to hang out with some random bloke. My husband wouldn’t be pleased, he’s a police officer you know.” she subtly threatened while still trying to sound pleasant. 

The threats seemed to fly over the dim man’s head, his smile only becoming more lecherous. “Your husband doesn't have to know, we can keep it just between us,” he purred. Harlynn’s patience snapping in two. He pressed down on the man with his magic, smothering him with its oppressive force. The man’s eyes widened and his face paled as he stepped back a few times, eyes darting around trying to find the source of the feeling. His eyes landed back on the mother and son, both wearing similar dark expressions, their delicate faces twisted into something more sinister. He took one large step back and then another until he all but ran away from the two.

Lily closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, visibly trying to calm her anger. When she opened them once more, all traces of fury had been erased. "Well, I haven’t missed that." Lily huffed wryly before her mouth quirked up into a smile with little happiness in it. "Thank you for protecting me, my little Knight in Shining Armour," she brushed his hair out of the way to press a kiss to his forehead. "I can take care of myself you know? But you did great, did you see how scared he was!" her smile wide. 

Lily’s smile grew wider and devilish as she reached to her side, the expression put Harlynn on edge, wary of what could have caused it. She pulled up a fluffy white thing, and after shaking it out and holding it proudly in the air, Harlynn could see it was a white bunny onesie. “No.” he immediately shot down, he may be six, but he wasn’t a baby. Lily pouted, giving him puppy eyes while holding the bunny onesie out to him.

Harlynn caved within seconds, taking the onesie with a scowl, going back into the dressing room. He came back out in the onesie without having looked at himself in the mirror, Harlynn was going to sarcastically ask his Mother if she was happy, but her expression had his words die in his throat. Lily’s eyes were wide and misty, her smile stretched wide with a hint of pain but so much love as well. “Your father bought you a deer onesie, it was far too big for you, but James said you’d grow into it… You never got to wear it.” she explained, choked up. 

He looked back down at the onesie, his negative feelings disappear immediately. His Mother probably grabbed it because it reminded her of his Father, she wasn’t babying him. “Lets buy it.” Harlynn said determinedly, the onesie was cute and soft, but the only reason he agreed to buy it was for his Mum. Totally not because he himself really liked it, and loved it even more when his Mother told him the significance of it. Lily’s smile was watery as she thanked him, wiping away the forming tears in her eyes.

From there, he grabbed a few more of the blouses he liked but in the 3 other colors offered. White, grey, and black with white bows and buttons. When they got to the cash register, Lily put the things on the counter. The older man behind the counter gave them a strange look, “Ya dressing ‘im up like a poof?” he asked, Harlynn didn’t know what it meant but his Mother puffed up in righteous anger, her eyes narrowing. 

“I’m dressing my son in nice clothing, could you say the same?” she snapped back viciously, knowing she hit the nail on the head when the man flinched back. The rest of the time spent ringing up the items were in tense silence, and Lily took great joy in bringing out a large bundle of cash and slowly counting out the amount slowly to taunt the man. The second they were out the door, Harlynn rounded on his Mother, “What did he say?” he asked. Lily only shook her head, putting a hand on his shoulder, “It doesn’t matter Har’, he was wrong and you shouldn’t listen to people like that. Now, let’s go to some other places.”

They shopped until early afternoon, getting clothes and some blankets, pillows, and other things such as that, at which point Harlynn was starting to feel wiped out from all the shopping. Lily agreed that it was about time to go, so they walked to an alleyway to leave through magical means. What Lily didn’t expect was for a hand to grab her from behind and wrap tightly around her waist, when she looked up Harlynn had a hand over his mouth, his eyes glazed over like he had retreated into his head the second someone touched him. That was the last straw for Lily, “Acus!” she snarled, immediately both men dropped them and fell to the floor screaming. Harlynn had slightly came out of his head and was looking around in confusion, Lily took those moments of disorientation to use a gate, taking them far from the alley.

They landed in the same field she had used to teach Harlynn in before, it was halfway across the world and in a different timezone. Where it had been around 2 or 3 PM back in Surrey, it was now early into the night. The field of wheat was lit in the dim moonlight, the blades swaying softly and creating a calm atmosphere. Lily’s attention however, was solely focused on her son. Harlynn looked to be halfway still retreated into his mind, while also trying to come out of it. Lily wanted to reach out to him and pull him into a hug, but instead she let her magic do it. She wrapped her magic around Harlynn like a warm hug, sending feelings of love and safety through her magic

Harlynn slowly relaxed his tense shoulders hunching and his eyes becoming less glazed by the minute. It took a few minutes before he blinked rapidly and shook his head, throwing off any of the lingering daze. “Can I hug you?” Lily asked, not wanting to cross his boundaries after a bad experience. Harlynn’s head snapped up so quickly it must have hurt his neck before he all but tackled her, startling her by trying to hug the living daylights out of her. 

Lily quickly returned the hug, her heart could never stop fluttering at the feeling of her son in her arms. She thought it would be years before she got to see him, that she would have no time with him before he took over her duties. She feared since the day she died that she’d never get to see her son again, to hold and talk to him, to tell him that he was loved with all her heart. It made her rage that he died so early, but she was also thankful for the chance to raise him. To be with him every step of the way even with being deceased. 

“What was that spell you used?” Harlynn asked, startling her out of her thoughts. Lily ran a hand up and down his back, happy when her touch caused him to all but melt into her arms. Knowing he trusted her even after a terrible experience with touch meant the world. “It’s a spell called ‘Acus’ it feels like a million sharp needles stabbing into you. It’s entirely within the person’s head, but it can kill someone if left on for too long. The intent behind the spell can cause the needles to feed on the fear and pain of the victim and make real ones, stabbing into the internal organs of the victim before disappearing with the death of the victim. It’s a very dark spell.” she explained.

“I’m guessing you killed them with the spell?” he said wryly, more a statement than a question, already knowing the answer. Lily nodded, “I would have let them off with a borderline dark curse if they hadn’t touched you, but for making you retreat into your own mind with fear they deserved no better than a painful death.” she said fiercely, still angry for those scumbags daring to touch her son. Harlynn held his mother tighter, disliking the reminder but also being elated at someone protecting him for once. Being reminded that he was no longer alone meant everything to the love-starved orphan.

“I love you, Mum.” He couldn’t help but whisper into his mother’s red hair, duly noting that it was back to its usual blood red color. His mother squeezed him even harder to the point of it hurting, but he didn’t mind it, if anything the tight hug was reassuring. “I love you more than words could hope to describe, Harlynn.” his mother said fiercely, her voice thick. She released her fearsome grip around him to pepper kisses across his face, Harlynn laughing merrily at the butterfly touches of affection dotting across his skin. Lily pulled back and gave him a wide grin before pressing a final kiss on his forehead.

-

They sat in their blissful little world for several minutes more before Lily stood slowly, she brushed off her dress and offered a hand to Harlynn. He took it curiously, and followed as his mother led him across the field to a dense orchard he hadn’t seen before. Before he could voice a question, Lily pointed a finger towards one of the trees, a smaller one with no fruit. “I’m going to teach you some offensive and defensive spells so that nobody can touch you like that ever again.” she said. Silently, she casted a spell to create lights to illuminate the area.

Harlynn nodded and allowed his mother to lead him to the tree and position his body to the proper stance. He tried his hardest to commit the way she had positioned his legs and told him to center but not totally ground himself, how dueling is all about moving quickly, but you need to have a solid stance to properly aim when you first start out. She also told him as he improved, so would his stance as he developed a style that worked best with his magic, and by the point he had a style, his stance would matter little since his accuracy would be far more superior. 

Lily pressed a hand between his shoulder blades, “Now raise your dominant arm.” she ordered. Harlynn struggled for a moment, he’s trained himself to use both arms equally since one or even both would end up broken too many times to count. Voicing his plight, his mother let out a low growl he isn’t sure human vocal cords should be able to produce, “That’s good Harlynn, it means you are less limited. Just use whichever feels most natural at the moment, some spells may feel different depending on which arm you cast from.” she informed, her voice strained with her anger.

Harlynn nodded, deicing to just start off with his left arm, raising it up like his mother had asked. She pressed his elbow so that his arm would be perfectly straight, “Now, Defense spells are different than the other ones I have taught you thus far. More than anything, these spells require intent, they feed on emotion and determination, they thrive on confidence and strength. When you use these spells, be strong. Even if in the moment you don’t feel strong, believe in the strength of your magic and it will make all the difference.” she explained.

She let some of her magic trickle into Harlynn’s from the point of contact at his elbow, their magic twined together and sang happily, sending pleasant tingles spreading from his elbow down to his wrist. “Focus Harlynn,” Lily chided in amusement, he didn’t understand at first what he was supposed to focus on, until he felt it. Underneath the bubbly happy feeling of their mixed magic was this intent, he could feel it as if it was a physical presence, thick and heavy in her magic. His felt brittle and flimsy compared to the strengthened and condensed focus her magic had, intent hardening it to a sharper force than it could hope to be without it. Like comparing a honed blade in the hands of a master, to a rusted sword in the hands of a novice. 

Harlynn let out a breath, wonder thrumming through him. He tried to sharpen his own magic, focusing on wanting it to be like his Mother’s, but it didn’t bend the way he wanted. “What am I doing wrong?” he asked, not letting frustration get to him, it wouldn’t help him the way patience will. Lily gave him a smile, “Good, don’t let failure get you down. Those that quit after a single failure are doomed to fail. You shouldn’t focus on mirroring my intent, because we don’t feel the same way. Just let your emotions guide you. Pour out your anger, sadness, happiness, or whatever else, don’t let it control you, instead use it to fuel your intent.”

Harlynn closed his eyes and tried to do what she had asked. He brought up all of his anger, at his uncle, his aunt, his cousin, at himself, at Peter, and everyone that saw him hurt but looked the other way. It bubbled up within him, scalding hot, searing through his veins screaming with rage, but he didn’t let it overcome him, instead he focused on adding it to his magic. He wouldn’t allow his anger to control him, instead he’d use it to sharpen his intent, turn his anger into a weapon to defend himself.

He could instantly feel the difference, the brittle directionless magic turned red hot, becoming angry and prickly. It wasn’t quite the smooth and solid sharpness of his Mother’s, but just focusing on a single emotion wiped him out mentally, so he’d try adding more at a later time. Lily instantly sense his tiredness and took her hand away from his elbow, he mourned the warmth but listened to her words. “You don’t always need intent, but anger or protectiveness will really help out the spells I’m going to teach you. Now, this first one is a binding spell. It makes invisible bindings around the target, squeezing them the harder they struggle, you can see the effects of it if you put the proper amount of force behind it.”

To demonstrate she put out an arm, elbow straight and hand splayed. Taking in a deep breath, she said “Premo.” the spell’s effect was immediate. Although the tree had no way to struggle, she powered it to the point that indents were visible wrapping around the trunk like invisible rope. When she released the spell, he could see the tree had those marks carved into it from the pressure. “Now, you won’t want to put that much force behind a spell used on a human unless you want to kill them. For a human, just put on a light bind and let their struggling do all the work, it will save magic.” Lily instructed before taking a step back, gesturing for Harlynn to try.

Harlynn positioned his left arm the way he’d seen his mother do it, but as the magic condensed eagerly to be used and the spell was at the tip of his tongue, he switched arms. Instantly, he felt more secure in casting from his right arm. “Premo.” rolled off his tongue, his magic jumping to complete the task that it had been directed to do. Ever since Harlynn became aware of what his magic felt like, it almost felt- a_live ._Like an entity of its own, happy to follow his orders and vicious in protecting him. He remembered all the instances of accidental magic lashing out at whoever hurt him, and he wonders if it was his magic in control. 

The spell wound around the tree, and he could feel invisible bindings attached to his magic, like he was aware of how tight they are. At the moment they were lazily wrapped around the trunk, like a deadly arboreal snake resting before prey catches its attention and constricts it to death. He pushed more magic into it and felt as it became more alert, wrapping stronger around the bark. Harlynn turned to his Mum, she was watching him with a little smile on her face and a proud glint in her eyes.

“You know that’s a 6th year spell at the least? Some people don’t get it right even then because they don’t have a strong enough connection to their magic to mold it properly for the spell.” she explains, laying a hand on his shoulder. His arm fell and the spell released as he looked up at his mother with a grin. She ruffled his hair, making him laugh. “Now let’s not waste any more time, I want to show you at least 5 more before you go back to my _ sister’s _ home.” Lily said.

Harlynn nodded and fell back into the stance his mother had taught him, she made a few minor adjustments before praising him for being such a quick learner. He followed her directions intently, only failing to perform a spell first try two times. Lily would patiently explain where he went wrong and encourage him to try again, and both times he performed it perfectly after further instruction. Finally, when Lily felt satisfied he had them all down, they sat beneath the poor abused tree side by side. At this point it was far later into the night, the lingering sunlight abandoned to pitch darkness. “Where are we?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“China.” Lily said flippantly. Harlynn gawped, he’d never so much as been outside of Surrey before and now he was halfway across the world! His mother laughed at the expression on his face, a tinkling sound like wind chimes in the summer breeze. He pouted at her laughing at him, but didn’t say anything. When Lily had caught her breath she let out a sigh, “I suppose you should go ‘home’ now.” she said, air quotes and all. 

He didn’t want to go back to the Dursleys, but at the very least he wasn’t scared anymore. He was confident in his magic, he knew that even if he panicked and stood there helplessly, his magic would rise up to defend him. It almost reminded him of a dog, not an evil one like Ripper, but one that would stand in front of him and attack anyone that came near him with bad intentions. Even when those guys had tried to kidnap him, and he retreated into his mind, he could feel his magic surge up to protect him from harm, seconds away from lashing out violently before Lily interrupted.

A gate was opened in an alley near the Dursleys house, and Lily made sure Harlynn had the shrunken shopping bags still in his pocket before sending him off. Her physical presence had vanished, only for her to appear in the back of his mind. He walked down the street to the house and took the spare key from under the mat, he unlocked the door with his head held high, closing it as an afterthought. Instantly beady eyes locked onto him, “Mum, Dad! The Freak’s home!” Dudley yelled from his place on the couch, before going back to watching the telly. 

Harlynn could hear a chair scrape sharply in the kitchen before Vernon lumbered out. There was a bottle of vodka in his hand that he threw at Harlynn, missing by a large margin. His face the darkest red he has ever had the displeasure to witness. “Boy!” he bellowed, his voice echoing through the whole house and spit flying from his mouth. He faintly heard a dish break in the kitchen, and felt a moment of smug satisfaction at Petunia losing one of her precious dishes that he’s had to scrub spotless countless times but never been able to eat from. 

Harlynn stood his ground and only calmly blinked at the hulking mass of fat before him, “Yes, Uncle?” he asked, voice only mildly curious but otherwise blank. That only seemed to set the man off further as he unbuckled his belt, face a violent red. “You dare to steal from me, you miserable whelp!?! I should have tossed you into the bin instead of taking you into my home out of the kindness of my heart. You ungrateful son of a bitch, your Mother was just as worthless and freakish as you are! You’ll be begging to join your lousy parents when I’m done with you, _Boy _.” Vernon ranted, viciously while pulling his belt from his jeans.

Harlynn had heard enough, his blood bubble red hot at the insult to his Mother. It would have offended him even before they had met, but now after spending time with his loving mother, it enraged him more than all the other slights against him. Instantly his magic flooded the room, the same red hot as his anger and just as prickly. Vernon’s hand hesitated, the red color in his face quickly draining at the stabbing sensation of his magic. “Y-you stop that freakishness now, Boy.” he ordered.

The boy took a step forward, snarling out “Premo.” his agitated magic, happily wrapping around the obese man. Vernon instantly began struggling against the burning binding around him, feeling like someone had lit a cactus on fire and wrapped it around him. As he struggled, it only tightened into his skin, squeezing into his body harsher. Vernon let out a grunt of pain, “Let me go this instant, Boy.” he demanded, but the effect was dampened by the tangible fear and pain in his voice.

“No.” Harlynn said before stepping forward until he was face to face with the man’s large stomach, with a wave of his hand his magic slammed Vernon into the ground causing him to cry out in agony as invisible cactus spines dug unforgivingly into him. Halrynn crouched down until he met Vernon’s fear filled eyes, he graced the man with a pleasant smile, taking joy in how his face paled even further. 

“Things are going to change around here if you know what’s good for you.” Harlynn said simply, voice a happy rolling sound that forced Vernon to hang onto his every word. “Now, firstly, none of you are allowed to hurt me anymore. If you even attempt to, I’ll dish it back far more severely.” he held up a finger, “Second, I’m no longer lifting a finger to help your lazy arses. You cook and clean for yourselves from now on.” a second finger went up, “Third, you will leave me alone. From this point forward you will feed and shelter me, but otherwise we see nothing of each other and you keep out of my business.” a final finger rose.

“Simple to remember right? Only three rules, and you won’t like the consequences if you break them,” Harlynn said looking away from Vernon toward the shocked horrified faces of Dudley watching from over the couch and Petunia from the doorway of the kitchen, “That goes to all of you.” 

With that, he stood up and walked around Vernon’s large struggling body. He opened his cupboard door and stepped into his little haven, closing the door with a final click that rang through the silent house. He absentmindedly released the spell on Vernon, ignoring the commotion outside the door in favor of his Mum who sat on his bed once more ignoring the laws of reality. She clapped a bright smile on her face, “Well done, Sweetie. I couldn’t have done better myself.” she praised.

Harlynn grinned shyly, climbing onto the ratty mattress beside his Mum. She pulled him into a hug, letting go when Harlynn winced from an exposed spring digging into him. Lily’s face turned into one of distaste, “Let’s make this room less dreadful. I would have done it myself, but I think it could give you a lot of practice on Transfiguration, Runes, and Charms. By the time we’re done, this room will be bigger than their house.” she said determinedly. 

Harlynn nodded eagerly and they got to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harlynn- grey land; hare land  
Apollinaris- a name for Lily of the Valley according to a legend of Apollo discovering it.  
Lily of the Valley- a funeral flower meaning "return to happiness"
> 
> Check out my tumblr for status reports and additional insight into little details in the fic @one-giant-gay-nerd
> 
> Kudos, Comments, and bookmarks keep the depression away, hit them if you enjoy my work lol


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy does this fic have a mind of it's own... I really didn't expect half of the things in this chapter and I'm the one writing it. There should be an update every Sunday, but the chapter length varies on how much time I have to write during that week. I'm still in middle school so I've got that going on along with therapy and other IRL stuff, so please be patient with me!
> 
> Also, huge shoutout to my lovely beta Mason! He keeps me sane istg.

_ August 14, 1986 _

The first thing he had learned to cast had been a mild space expansion charm, even the weaker version of the spell made the room the size of Dudley’s room. The spell had wiped him out, so he and his mother had sat on the bed she had absent-mindedly transfigured to be more comfortable, and relaxed. They had talked on the bed for a while until he was feeling stronger and then his Mum said they should focus on transfiguration more. She had him practice on the ratty old blanket he’d used for hours, making him change it into different things over and over. It was only when she was satisfied with the blanket transfiguration that she undid her own change on the bed and had Harlynn do it instead.

From that point on, she’d teach him a spell and have him practice it on the cupboard. ‘Scourgify’ on the walls and floor, ‘Colloportis’ on the door with enough intent behind it to hurt anyone that tried to forcefully open the door and passive to those who meant no harm. A silencing charm on the door and ‘Colovaria’ on the floors to make it a nice dark brown colour. Then there was a bunch of other minor spells to help fix it up the room to something liveable. Once the bed had been made and a rug placed on the ground, Lily had decided they needed more furniture. She’d told him to get dressed in his new clothes, and they’d go out shopping.

One gate later, and they were in a different part of the world where it was late afternoon, it’d been past midnight when they’d left. “Where are we this time?” he asked as his mother dragged him towards the first store on her checklist that she saw. Lily, who was once again visible to others and dressed in what she wore yesterday, flashed a smile down at him. “Los Angeles, California. It’s in America.” 

“We’re in America!?” he asked, looking around with renewed vision. He’s heard Dudley bragging that he’d get to go to Disneyland in America for months, he can’t wait to shove it in that fat pig’s face that the little freak went there first. Lily laughed as she opened the door and led them inside a store selling wallpaper, “My, aren’t you a vindictive little bunny.” she cooed. Harlynn scowled at the nickname, if he knew that accepting the onesie would result in that awful nickname he would have chosen a different animal.

Lily walked around looking at the wallpapers and asking his opinions, when they finally found one that they both liked, she waved over an employee. The teen walked a bit fast, before she was standing by them a dopey grin on her face. “Can I help you?” she asked breathily, one of her fingers absentmindedly twirling her dyed electric blue hair with dark roots. His mother gave the American a smile, and he watched as the teens face turned a bright red. “Yes, can I get a sample of this wallpaper.” Lily said politely, gesturing to the one they’d chosen.

“Holy shit, you’re British! I mean- Yes of course Ma’am. I’ll get on that right now.” the girl walked backwards before she crashed into a display, turned the right way and darted out of sight. “That was weird.” Harlynn said, still looking towards where the girl had disappeared from. Lily broke down laughing, wiping away a few tears. “Merlin, I’d forgotten just how much lesbians short circuit at a pretty face. I remember this one girl in my dorm that used to fall down whole flights of stairs whenever the Hufflepuff prefect Alice smiled at her.” 

Harlynn giggled at the mental image of a girl tumbling down dozens of stairs because of a smile. “What’s a lesbian?” he asked. Lily carded her fingers through his hair, carefully working out any snags that her hands caught. “Well, a lesbian is a girl that only likes other girls. A gay person is someone that only likes their own gender. Bisexual people like both girls and boys. Muggles can be horrid to these people, but in the Wizarding world it is widely accepted.” her smile grew wider, and she leaned down, so she was level with his face.

“Want to know a secret?” she whispered, mischievously. Harlynn nodded, “Merlin himself was gay. Ever heard of King Authur?” Lily told him wagging her eyebrows with a grin. Harlynn actually had heard of them, there was a picture book with words that he read in the library while hiding for Dudley and his gang. On that note, he should warn Dudley to back off, or he will pay the price doubly as responsibility for his friends. His Mum brushed the back of her hand across his cheek gently, “This goes back to what I said about being different being okay. If you find that you like boys, or you like boys and girls, I’ll accept you. Okay? Never be scared of what I think.” her words were somewhat stern, but really just full of that love that made Harlynn’s insides all gooey and happy.

He nodded, and she stood back to her full height, hand once again messing around with his hair. Harlynn found he actually really enjoyed the feeling of his mother’s hands delicately running through his hair, it was soothing. It was a minute late that the girl came back, trying (and failing) to walk at a casual pace but also clearly speed walking. “I’m so sorry for the long wait! I had to dig out our sample, which _ someone _ misfiled. I swear they’re all such lazy asses here.” she said apologetically, hand outstretched with the material. Lily took it with a nod, “Thank you.” she said, the girl nodded dumbly before walking away in a daze with a red face.

Harlynn snickered quietly as they left, he felt kinda mean for laughing at somebody else, but it wasn’t cruel like Dudley. It had just been funny to witness, and he couldn’t keep the laughter in now that the girl was gone. His Mum lead him to the next shop, an appliance store. He didn’t understand why they needed appliances, but he was silent as his mother spoke to an employee and was lead to the bathroom section. “Wait, are we adding a bathroom to my room?” Harlynn asked, his Mum gave him a cheerful “Yep!” before leading him towards the baths.

“Are we going to buy it?” he asked, Lily nodded.

“It’s better to buy Muggle things from Muggles. Magic tends to skimp over the fine details, at most you’d probably be able to transfigure a basin with magic then fill it with water from a spell, but that’d be annoying real quick. You could also use runes to provide water like most Wizarding households do, but again it’d simply be more efficient to buy the Muggle versions.” she leaned down with a secretive grin, “And between you and me, Muggles do it way better.” she whispered before elaborating, “Without Magic those buffoons would get nowhere, Britain's adversity to change will be their downfall. Along with all the inbreeding.” she tacked on after a moment.

“What’s inbreeding?” Harlynn asked. From the way his Mum said it with her nose slightly scrunched up in a way he was quickly learning meant she was discussing something she thought was dumb. Lily shook her head and sighed but spoke anyway, “Inbreeding is when family marries each other. Like brothers marrying their sisters, or cousins marrying each other. Even doing it once risks the child having issues from birth, but continuing to do it indefinitely will cause a whole host of problems and slowly cause the demise of a family. Purebloods have cut back on marrying their direct family, but they still only marry Purebloods. At this point all British Purebloods are related therefore no new blood gets added in. What do you think that leads to?” she asked.

“It’ll make them all inbree-” he trailed off, eyebrows furrowed. He didn’t know how to say it without the ‘ing’. “Inbred.” Lily chimed in, and he nodded. “Yeah, it’ll make them all inbred. Which means that all the British Purebloods will die out.” Harlynn said, he’s pretty sure that’s what his Mum was getting at. Lily gave his hair a ruffle, he squawked in protest at the sudden attack. “You’re exactly right my little genius. Those British Pureblood gits don’t understand what a six-year-old can, what does it say about them?” she asked musingly.

“That they’re all too stupid from inbreeding so long?” Harlynn said. Lily let out a bark of laughter, hands clutching her stomach. “You’re probably right,” she laughed. Suddenly her laughter cut out, and she stood straighter, waving her hand to cancel the silencing spell he hadn’t even noticed her cast, not a second too late. A hand reached out and grabbed him spinning him around with force, bringing him face to face with a blonde girl. “I knew it! I could spot your ugly hair anywhere, Cemetery Harry! What’s with the clothes, did you _ steal _them?” 

Before them was a young girl a few years older than him with an ugly sneer on her pudgy face and hands on her hips, “So just what are you doing in America, Cemetery Harry!? Did you trick someone or stow away to get here? We all know that you’re _ poor. _And why is your hair all weird and red.” She demanded. 

It took a second before he recognized her Lisa Terry, she was a part of the mean girls in the school. They willingly harassed him with Dudley despite being 3 years older, while the rest of the student body just tried to stay out of it to avoid getting beat up by Dudley. Imagine his rotten luck to run into the ringleader in a whole different country. He opened his mouth to respond when he felt a chill run down his spine at the furious magic behind him. Looking up, he saw his mother wearing a pleasant smile with her eyes closed. If he couldn’t feel her just barely restrained magic lashing out like a wild beast, he’d probably believe it was a happy expression. It wasn’t.

“Oh, and who might you be?” Lily asked, voice its usual melodious roll, but there was something darker about it. Lisa faltered before standing up straighter and sneering at his Mum too, “Who are you? Why are you around that freak? I bet you’re a freak too since you look so alike.” she said in her stupid stuck-up voice. Harlynn growled and Lisa took a step back, her hands falling to her sides. “Go away!” he said, lashing out with his magic, beyond done with this awful banshee. 

Lisa stepped back again looking unnerved but soldiered on, her face more of a grimace than a sneer at this point. She looked between Harlynn and Lily before an ugly smile took over her face, “Oh I see. Did your Aunt and Uncle finally send you to the loony bin here in America, so they never have to look at you again? I’m surprised they kept you so long, they’re such saints to put up with a freak like you for so long. I bet they wanted to get rid of you before you killed them like you did your parents! Is that your keeper? Does she keep your delusions under control?” her face twisted into a mockery of seriousness her voice pitching to mimic his own, “Deborah is real! She’s right there. Stop laughing at her and saying she doesn’t exist!” she taunted.

Harlynn’s face flushed red with embarrassment, opening his mouth to tell the blonde bint to stick her short stumpy nose elsewhere, he was cut off by another wave of his Mum’s magic. It was no longer just anger, it dripped of wrath so potent it took his breath away. Glancing back, he saw her eyes were open this time, revealing glazing green eyes that almost seemed to glow with her fury. “Oh, deary I think you may be lost.” Lily said, voice still that barely constrained calm before it dropped an octave lower, pure menace dripping from her tone. “So why don’t you go elsewhere before you end up hurt? Didn’t your parents teach you better than to wander off by yourself?” she said, eyes narrowed like green daggers.

Lisa quickly lost all her confidence, a pulse of his Mum’s magic shot out on each of her words accenting her threats. Tears grew in Lisa’s eyes, and she spun on her heel running out of the shop, the open door letting them hear her faint shouting of “Mummy! Daddy!”. Harlynn huffed, before quickly dismissing the whole event, he’d make sure to get his revenge when school started. By then him Mum would have taught him all about hexes, she told him they’d hold off on it until he had the essentials down. That things like hexes, household spells, and potions could wait until he had what he truly needed to keep himself alive.

Lily was visibly still fuming when she called an employee over, she curtly made arrangements for the parts to be sent to the Dursleys’ house. She gave the man a dangerous look when he suggested she couldn’t put it together that immediately had him backing off. Her jaw was still locked as she opened a gate to get her son home, not only was it getting to about the time he’d need to sleep, but she was too angry to continue shopping. She’s never wanted to curse a child before, but there’s a first time for anything.

How could a parent let their child become so cruel? It also didn’t escape her notice that Harlynn didn’t react beyond being embarrassed and annoyed before she was insulted. Lily didn’t like the implication that her son was being bullied in school too. She’d have to ask if he wanted to transfer elsewhere when he woke up. With great difficulty, she slammed her occlumency barriers down, trapping her angry emotions to deal with later when her son wasn’t around.

Harlynn’s shoulder untensed marginally causing her heart to break and shove her anger down again. Even if he wasn’t scared of her anger, he was still wary of danger. She’d been gone 5 years of his life, and he had habits ingrained into him that would last his entire life and time as an Avatar. She opened her arms for a hug, pulling Harlynn tightly to her chest when he accepted. Lily wrapped her magic around him to reassure him in more than words that she wasn’t angry at him and loved him. All the remaining tension drained away in seconds as he melted into her arms, his small- too small -arms wrapping tighter around her torso and letting out a sigh of contentment.

Lily doesn’t understand how her little sister could have become such a monster. As children, they were always so close. She and Petunia were inseparable, joined at the hip and always playing together. She remembers how Petunia said that she wanted to work with children and be a teacher, and how she always gushed over any babies they saw. How could that lovely younger sister she once knew, become someone that would starve and beat her own nephew? Sure Petunia slowly pulled away from her after her letter from Hogwarts, but they were still close, Petunia was even her maid of honor and helped organize her wedding. She had thought leaving her son in her sister’s hands if Sirius, Alice, Frank, Narcissa, or Severus weren’t able to would be fine. Clearly she was wrong.

She sighed and let go of her thoughts, picking Harlynn up into her arms. He flailed for a moment, not expecting it, but accepted it quickly. Lily pulled back the neatly placed sheet on the bed and put Harlynn in, pulling the blanket up to his neck, tucking him in. With a wave of her hand she switched his clothes to the onesie, Harlynn made a face at it for a moment before smiling softly. His eyes glimmered with surprise and happiness, she could hear his thoughts about always wishing he could be tucked in like his classmates were. Her heart wept for her son and all the lost time every time he thought things like that, wishing that she’d never listened to James and stayed in Britain. If she hadn’t given in and just fled while she was still pregnant like she wanted, her son wouldn’t be in a cupboard, no matter how renovated the space was.

It also reminded her that she’d have to teach him Occlumency, Harlynn was clearly a natural Legilimens seeing how he pushes his thoughts onto others. His mind was wide open though, the first time she went into his mind she didn’t expect it to be easier than breaching a Muggle’s who have no barriers at all. Something off about how open his mind is, but she hopes teaching him Occulemencey starting tomorrow will help mend the hole. It could be dangerous with how easy it is to enter his mind, anyone could know what he was thinking or take advantage of him and that scared her.

Lily brushed back the hair on his forehead and pressed a tender kiss to the skin, “I love you, Harlynn. You need to rest now.” she whispered softly, and with a wave of her hand the lights dimmed, so they were only faint. “Stay with me?” He asked softly, (Please don’t go. I don’t want to fall asleep alone. I just want you here.) his mind shouted, Lily smiled and laid down beside him in the big bed when all she could feel was her heart breaking. She pulled him close to her body and Harlynn immediately latched onto her desperately, burrowing into her hold.

She heard Harlynn’s soft breathing even out, but Lily didn’t want to leave him. She was dead, she couldn’t eat nor sleep, she also couldn’t interact with the physical world beyond magic. The only one she could touch was her son, nobody could even see her except for him. Those that see her magic made glamour always forget about her the second she was out of sight, only leaving an impression with a foggy remembrance of somebody being there. It was lonely, but she knew what the duties were of an Avatar long before her father past. He never visited her once he took up her duties, she wonders if it was because he knew how much it would have hurt to not be truly seen by those you love anymore. 

Lily was fine with nobody but her son seeing her, he was all she needed. Of course, she’d miss Sirius, Remus, Narcissa, Alice, Severus, and Frank, but they didn’t need her. Harlynn needed her most, and she wouldn’t leave his side now that she had the chance to raise him. She wouldn’t let this chance to have her son (until he took over his duties) pass her by. Looking at his soft little face, slackened with sleep Lily promised herself she’d stay. That she’d always be there for him, because she knew there would be no third chance. 

-

_ August 14th, 1986 _

Dudley woke up early with his stomach growling, he hadn’t had the chance to eat last night since his Dad got taken to the hospital. Worry gnawed on him about his Dad, that freak’s magic gave Dad severe rope burns and caused him to have a heart attack. Freak was a monster, just like his Dad always told him. But (his Dad was in the hospital because of the Freak), he didn’t want to cross the monster in case it attacked him too.

He padded over to his parent’s room, ready to knock on the door and demand she feed him. Dudley’s words died in his throat when he heard sobbing coming from behind the door, something twisting in his gut that wasn’t hunger. He really loved his Mum, she always cared for him and spoiled him. Deciding not to bother her, he instead went down the stairs and sat on the couch to watch the telly. His Mum was awake, he’d just wait until she was feeling better.

Switching the telly on, it was displaying the news which bored him. Something about two men being found in an alley after being poisoned into having heart attacks, folders placed neatly on top of their bodies about the human trafficking ring they were a part of. Dudley quickly switched channels to the one he liked, he glanced around before remembering that his father was in the hospital and put on the channel that played cartoons from America. One of them was He-man, and it was his favourite, it was so awesome and Adam is so strong and brave.

Dudley’s dad doesn’t like him watching it though, says that it’ll give him bad ideas and corrupt him. Dudley still does it anyways, he just waits until his dad had passed out after drinking the juice in the bottles that smells awful, or when he’s upstairs with Mum. While he’s sad his Dad isn’t here and angry at the Freak for doing that, he’s also glad to finally have peace while watching the show without the constant fear of getting caught. He’s seen his Dad angry with the Freak, he doesn’t want that to be him.

The episode was near finishing when a door opened, he turned around to ask his Mum for food when he came face to face with the freak. His eyes were an eerie green that you could see more intensely now that he had ditched the glasses. His hair was also weird now, you could see red coming out from the top. He was also as white as the paint on the wall. “Dudley.” the freak said. And then there was his voice, it was scary. Even though he didn’t want to listen, his voice forces him to with the way it rolls. 

“What, Fr-” a feeling washed over Dudley, it was dark and angry. It closed in around him like he was in a can squeezer, smooshing him downward with a heavy pressure. It was sharp like dozens of needles neatly aligned and pressing in around him from all sides. It took his breath away, “Wh-what do you want, Harry?” Dudley stuttered out, his heart hammering faster than a car on a highway. 

“I wanted to clear some things up with you, Dudley.” his voice soft, but there was a dangerous edge beneath it that made Dudley hold his tongue as the monster spoke. “You and your little lackeys will leave me alone from now on. No more Harry Hunting, no more beating up kids who try to talk to me. Anything that your friends do to me, I’ll do it back to you twice as painfully. If you know what’s best for you, you’ll just leave me alone.” Freak said, voice cold and hard despite the soft volume. 

Dudley swallowed, resentment and fear bubbling in him. It was the monsters fault that his dad was in the hospital, it was that freak’s fault that his Mum was crying upstairs. It wasn’t Dudley’s fault, none of this was fair. He wished he could go back to last week when everything was normal, it felt like his world was crashing down around him, and he didn’t know what to do. He nodded to the monster in his cousin’s skin, watching warily as the freak turned around and disappeared into the kitchen. 

Soon the sound of food being made came from the kitchen, he couldn’t help but look longingly at the entrance at the smell of bacon being cooked. He wanted that. Dudley’s stomach growled loudly at him, making him grimace at the sharp feeling of his stomach being empty that accompanied it. The freak made really good food, but now he’ll not get to eat it anymore. He knew in his gut if he so much as asked, bad things would happen. The monster exited the kitchen with a nicely plated English breakfast in his hand, disappearing back into its cupboard. Dudley stared at the door for several long moments, the sound He-man continuing to play in the background. 

He doesn’t know how long he stared at the door, but his attention snapped away from it when he heard footsteps from the upstairs hall. His Mum came into view and went down the stairs, he could see her eyes were still slightly red despite the tears being gone. Dudley knew she was still sad despite the small (weak) smile on her face. “Mum, I’m hungry.” he said subdued, not demanding food as he usually does.

Petunia nodded, her blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail for once, she usually wears it down. “Of course, Dudders. What would you like to eat?” she asked. He noticed her voice was croaky and strained and that his Mum was talking quieter than usual. It put him on edge, seeing his Mum so worn down and sad. Mum shouldn’t be sad. “Can I have eggs and soldiers? And bacon?” he asked as politely as he could, not wanting his Mum to be sadder. It hurt him to see her like that.

His Mum gave him a smile that was slightly more real, and he knew he had made the right choice. “I’ll go get to that, Dudders.” Petunia said before leaving into the kitchen. Dudley waited as patiently as he could with his stomach rumbling painfully and the smell of food wafting from the kitchen. 20 minutes later, his Mum called from the kitchen that the food was done. Dudley quickly turned off the telly and walked into the kitchen, a plate of eggs and soldiers along with a plate of bacon waiting for him. 

Dudley happily dug in before pausing when he saw no plate for his Mum, “What about you, Mum?” he asked. Petunia had a surprised expression on her face before it smoothed over, “I’ll eat later Dudley. I’m not very hungry right now.” she said. Dudley reluctantly nodded with a frown on his face, her voice sounded like it did when she lied, but why would his Mum lie? Hesitantly, he went back to eating, his mind still lingering on the fact that his Mum was acting odd.

“Are you sure you’re alright, Mum?” Dudley asked, his Mum’s expression went blank her eyes flickering with emotions he couldn’t recognize. She smiled, and it was an awful thing, it looked so fake and broken even he could see it. “Of course I’m fine, Dudders. Just finish you food, and why don’t you head over to Piers’ place for the day. I’ll call his Mum to see if it’s alright.” she said. He nodded slowly, and finished his food. Maybe being alone will fix his Mum, he really didn’t want to leave the house today, but he wanted his Mum back to normal.

After a quick call on the phone, Dudley was walking towards his friends’ house, the entire time his thoughts circling around his Mum, Dad, and how everything was going wrong. Why did everything have to change and get all weird. He doesn’t like it, he wants his normal life back. Where his Mum eats her breakfast and doesn't cry or lie to him. Where his Dad was in the house, eating alongside him and not in the hospital. Where the monster was something that could be controlled, not something looming in the shadows that might pounce at any moment. His sense of normal was falling apart, and he didn’t like it, but there was nothing he could do about it. None of this was fair!

-

Harlynn woke up groggily, warmth surrounding him. Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was red. A shade of red he knew well, his eyes trailed upward and met ones identical to his own, which were bright with love. “Good morning, Harlynn.” Lily said quietly, a soft smile on her face. A burst of love for his Mum shot through him, he loved her so much, it was hard to believe it has only been two days since they had met. For once, he was glad for his Uncle’s violence, without it, he wouldn’t have the best thing to ever happen to him in his life.

“Mornin’ Mum. What are we doing today?” he asked, snuggling more into her embrace. Her arms were wrapped protectively around him, their magic had been unconsciously mixing in his sleep and now that he was awake he could feel the charged feeling buzzing like a live-wire through him. Mixing magic together was intoxicating, the sheer feeling of love and warmth covering both of them like a thick blanket in winter. One of his Mum’s arms left his middle to start carding through his hair, “Starting today, I’ll be teaching you Occlumency. It’s an important skill to learn early on in the Wizarding world. You will be starting earlier than most, but I’m confident you will not only be able to do it, but exceed my expectations as you always do.” she said with pride in her voice.

Harlynn stomach did backflips and a grin stretched across his face, he loved it when his Mum said she was proud of him. He always wants to make her proud from here on out. “What’s Occlumency?” he asked, leaning into his Mum’s fingers when she started scratching his scalp. He was still getting used to being touched, every now and then it would feel odd for a moment before it went back to being a pleasant feeling. His Mum made a face before speaking, “Occlumency is the art of protecting your mind. It’s a common practice among Purebloods so nobody can steal family secrets. As an Avatar of Death, which you technically are you just can’t fulfill the role for quite a few years, that knowledge is naturally protected by Death. That doesn’t apply to the rest of what you know.” she explained.

“Is that how you know what I’m thinking? Are you reading my mind?” he asked, not quite sure how to feel. He didn't mind having his Mum read his thoughts, but he also didn’t like that someone could be in his head without his knowledge. His Mum see-sawed her hand, “I’m in your head when you can hear me in you mind, but other than that I don’t poke into your thoughts. The problem is that you are a natural Legilimens, or mind reader as you put it. Being a natural Legilimens leads to you projecting your thoughts unconsciously. The other reason I wanted you to learn is, that there might be something wrong with your mental barriers, as someone with magic your defenses should be far stronger than they are.” her face was set in a frown.

“Is there something wrong with me?” he asked, wondering if he was once again a freak among other people. Lily quickly shook her head, “No. The only way for this to have happened was for someone to force their way into your mind. If it happens very harshly when you are young, it leaves this hole in your mental barriers that grows wider as you age. It’s disturbing that someone has done something to your head, they could have even blocked or corrupted memories or subtly changed your personality. It’s very taboo stuff, and hopefully learning Occlumency will help assess and fix the damage.” she said very firmly. 

Harlynn nodded, angry at the fact that someone had ripped through his mind. It felt violating and disconcerting that it could have happened at any time, and he wouldn’t have known. He was determined to learn Occlumency, so he could protect his mind from unwanted visitors, the only person allowed was his Mum. He’s decided that he doesn’t mind her hearing his thoughts, it’s something he wants to share with her, it feels intimate and familial. It’s just as intoxicating as mixing magic, the complete lack of barriers, true emotions bare for each other to feel. There’s this deep trust in it, that he can’t help but feel honored to have from his Mum.

He doesn’t know exactly what of that his Mum heard, but she pulled him into a tight hug. “I love you, My Little Bunny.” Lily cooed, her melodious voice a cheery roll. Harlynn rolled his eyes, ignoring the nickname to enjoy his Mum’s hug, he’s never been hugged by anyone else, but his Mum gives the best hugs in the world. He knows that even if other people hug him in the future, they’ll never top his Mum’s. “Aw, you’re so sweet! You’re projecting your thoughts pretty heavily, Har’. They’re louder and more complete than usual.” Lily singsonged. Any further conversation was cut off by his stomach growling loudly, making Harlynn flush in embarrassment.

“How about you go eat first, yeah?” Lily said teasingly, “We can have our lesson afterward. You’ll be able to concentrate better on a full stomach anyways.” she paused, before asking somewhat suspiciously, “When was the last time you ate?” Harlynn had to think about it, so much had happened yesterday it was mind blowing that it’d been a two days instead of weeks. “Maybe 4 days?” he answered, unsure if he was right. He stopped counting the days in between eating ages ago, it only made him hungrier when he was aware of how long it had been. 

His Mum looked appalled, “Go eat something, Sweetie. Do you want to eat here or somewhere else?” she asked. Harlynn debated it shortly before deciding that he’d rather make his own food, since he’d never actually tasted what it was like before. Other than scraps of course. Lily growled, startling him out of his thoughts. He must have been ‘projecting’ again as his Mum calls it. “I don’t understand how my sister became such a monster. The girl I grew up would have loved and cherished you as her own son. I should have never trusted her with you!” she said hotly, her magic said otherwise. It felt sad, and guilty. He could feel that she thought that it was all her fault. 

“I think it’s more Peter’s fault than yours. If he hadn’t killed you and blamed Sirius, not only would you and Dad still be alive, but Sirius would be there for back up.” Harlynn reasoned, pleased when the self-loathing disappeared from her magic as her anger switched targets. “How about you go eat now, I’m going to try to locate that rat. I’ll be somewhat in your mind, so just ask for me to come back and I will. Are you okay with that?” she asked. 

He thought it over, he doesn’t want his Mum to leave, but he also wants Peter to be found. Harlynn has spent this long being alone, he can handle his Mum not being there for 10 to 20 minutes. He trusts her to come back when he asks, his Mum has never lied to him. He would’ve known the second she had, so he’d put his faith in her to return when he asks her to. “Okay.” he said.

Lily pressed a kiss to his forehead, “I’ll be back soon, Harlynn.” she promised, before she disappeared. Harlynn ignored the empty feeling at not having her presence or magic wrapped around him anymore to get up and make breakfast. Opening the door, his attention was immediately caught by the telly. Not having to hear the bloody thing at all hours was a blessing, though he was surprised that Dudley was awake this early. Harlynn’s body was hardwired to wake up before everyone else so that breakfast would be ready, and he wouldn’t get a beating. He woke somewhat late yesterday, but he was rather early today. 

Harlynn was pleased that Dudley took his warnings about no longer feeding them to heart. Even if he had pounded on Harlynn’s door, he would have received a nasty shock. It reminded him that he still had to warn Dudley off letting his friends do the dirty work while he sat back and watched. He wouldn’t let him be a victim anymore. He snapped out of his thoughts when he felt eyes on him, meeting Dudley’s stare with a blank one of his own. “Dudley.” he said neutrally, voice a disinterested drawl, unconsciously mimicking his mother. 

Dudley’s face was screwed up in a constipated expression, “What do you want Fr-” he didn’t get to say anything else as Harlynn’s magic jumped to his defense viciously without him consciously commanding it. He hated that name! He wasn’t a freak! His Mum said so, she said that he was smart and that he was normal, he didn’t want to hear lies anymore. His name was Harlynn, not Freak, and he refused to let anyone say anything less than his cover name. He didn’t particularly like the name Harry, it just didn’t connect with who he was, but that was the name he should be called.

“Wh-what do you want, Harry?” the pig stuttered out, Harlynn smiled blandly, soothing his agitated magic back to some semblance of control. The more time goes on, the more he grows suspicious of the sentence of his magic. It seemed to act before he even thought to do so, and was always eager to be used and grow. He sent a little thanks out to his magic for the quick reaction and it almost seemed to purr in contentment with the emotion. Yep, it was most definitely alive. If it wasn’t he’d eat one of Dudley’s loafers, a truly disgusting thought indeed.

“I wanted to clear some things up with you, Dudley.” Harlynn said softly, welding the same sharp threatening tone as his Mum does, forcing people to keep quiet and listen up. “You and your little lackeys will leave me alone from now on. No more Harry Hunting, no more beating up kids who try to talk to me. Anything that your friends do to me, I’ll do it back to you twice as painfully. If you know what’s best for you, you’ll just leave me alone.” his voice left no room for argument, he could feel his magic slither out and hiss out threateningly, adding a note of danger to his threat.

Dudley gave a stiff nod, Harlynn could see resentment, fear, and anger in his eyes, but he turned his back on it and ignored it. He wandered into the kitchen, excitement bubbling in him as he looked at the kitchen in a new light. This was no longer a place of pain and misery, instead, he’d actually get to make whatever food he wanted _ and _ eat it. He quickly attacked the fridge and pantry, taking out the ingredients for an English Breakfast. Harlynn has always wanted to try it, he knew the recipe by memory from the dozens of times he’s made it, but this one was special. This one was for him. 

He cooked while humming happily, startled then delighted as his magic joined in. It buzzed in an audible tone only for his ears, a warbling pitch joining in his hums. His magic draped around him, hanging across his shoulders like one of those dramatic boa scarves he’s seen. Harlynn cooked happily with his magic poking at things curiously, he felt it prod at the hot oil in the pan and recoil before poking it again. It was strange, as he too could feel the heat as an extension to his magic’s actions. Harlynn noticed the more he acknowledged his magic as a separate being, the bolder it got, exploring and interacting more. 

By the time he had plated his breakfast, his magic had poked at just about everything, even picking up a few things before putting it back. Harlynn knew he could probably force his magic under his control, take away its free will and keep it tightly under his command. He wouldn’t though, he’d never treat a living being as a slave. His magic was alive, and it deserved a right to act as it pleased. So he merely rolled his eyes when it started pushing eggs off the counter and watching them splatter on the floor with fascination. His magic reminded him of the toddlers he’s seen at the playground while hiding from Dudley. 

Harlynn took his breakfast into the cupboard to eat in peace, somewhat surprised to not see his Mum there waiting for him. She always seemed to be places before he was, she must be having a hard time tracking down Peter. He would have been anxious to be alone, but he wasn’t. His magic was right there, nuzzling against his cheek and tugging at the ends of his hair playfully. He ate his food peacefully in the silence, surprised to find how good his cooking tasted. It made him even more angry that he’s never gotten to taste a single morsel in the two years he’s been forced to be their cook.

His magic puffed up angrily, and he could hear a hissing sound, it wanted to attack something to make him feel better. Harlynn soothed it, there was time for making his relatives pay later. For now, he was going to eat his food and wait for his Mum to get back. His magic settled with the promise of future retribution, it was buzzing almost like it was thinking up ways to make the Dursley suffer. Harlynn quietly left that alone to continued his meal, he was barely a third through it when his stomach started protesting. He scowled and forced himself to eat another third, not wanting to waste the first real meal he’s had in his life, fighting back the gagging feeling in the back of his throat. 

He was reaching to eat another bite of eggs when the plate was stolen from him, he looked up to find it halfway across the room. “Hey!’ he exclaimed angrily, trying to get his food back from his unruly magic. He got off the bed quickly which had him doubling over, struggling to keep his food in. Harlynn felt more nauseous and dizzy than he ever has from lack of food, and quickly lost his battle to not throw up, puking all over his new rug. He only had a moment to feel sorry for ruining his new navy blue rug before he was heaving once more with tears springing to his eyes from the pain. 

“M-mum.” he said mentally, wanting his Mum to make it better. Instantly he felt a presence by his side and a hand settled on his shoulder, a steadying weight on his shaky crouched knees. “Harlynn? What’s the matter, Dear? Do you know why you are sick?” Lily asked, her voice strained with worry. She banished the mess on the floor and summoned a bucket from the bathroom, putting it by the bed and placing Harlynn back on it. Harlynn coughed miserably, his throat burning from the vomit and his mouth tasting like arse, not to mention the unpleasant churning in his gut.

Lily quickly ran the most advanced diagnostic spell that healers could use, it’d also show her any injuries and long term illness he suffered. Getting the results back she quickly scanned over them looking for the cause of her son’s sudden illness.

* * *

Name: 

Harry James Potter. _ Magical name- _[REDACTED]

Birth Date:

July 31, 1980

Age: 

6

Parents:

Lily Janice Potter nee Evans. _ Magical name- _[REDACTED] (Bearer) 

James Charlus Potter. _ Magical name _\- [REDACTED] (Sire)

Magical Guardian:

Sirius Orion Black. _ Magical name _\- [REDACTED] (Rightful Godfather)

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore (Illegal Guardian)

Blood type: 

O+

Curses and Active Spells: 

Horcrux- Tom Riddle (October 31, 1981)

Delayed Personality Compulsions- Albus Dumbledore (October 31, 1981), set to activate September 1, 1991

  * Loyalty Compulsion (Keyed to: The Light, Albus Dumbledore, The Order of the Phoenix, Hogwarts, The Greater Good, Vernon Dursley)
  * Light magic Compulsion
  * Wary of Dark Magic Compulsion
  * Ashamed of Abuse Compulsion
  * Submissive to Authority Compulsion
  * Reckless and Suicidal Compulsion
  * Mood Swings Compulsion
  * Anti-Homosexulaity Compulsion

Magical Blocks- Albus Dumbledore (October 31, 1981)

  * Parseltongue (100% blocked)
  * All Speak (100% blocked) [25% BROKEN]
  * Wild Magic (100% blocked) [100% BROKEN]
  * [REDACTED] (100% blocked) [30% BROKEN]
  * [REDACTED] (100% blocked)
  * [REDACTED] (100% blocked)

Past injuries:

Killing Curse Rebound- (October 31, 1981)

Dropped on Head [Concussion]- Vernon Dursley (November 3, 1981)

  * “ “ (December 9, 1981)

Broken Right Hand- Vernon Dursley (November 10, 1981)

Broken Left Arm- Vernon Dursley (November 16, 1981)

  * “ “ (January 24, 1983)

Irritant Dermatitis [Nappy Rash] (November 22, 1981 - December 2, 1981)

Broken Fingers- Vernon Dursley (January 3, 1982)

  * “ “ (February 18, 1984)
  * “ “ (May 28, 1985)
  * “ “ (July 31, 1985)

Broken Left Leg- Vernon Dursley (January 3, 1982)

  * “ “ (March 11, 1982)

Split Lip- Vernon Dursley (January 3, 1982)

Retinal Haemorrhage- Vernon Dursley (January 3, 1982)

Sight Damage RIght Eye- Vernon Dursley (January 3, 1982)

Linear Skull Fracture- Vernon Dursley (January 3, 1982)

Broke RIght Arm- Vernon Dursley (June 28, 1882)

Lacerations [Belt]- Vernon Dursley (July 30, 1982)

  * “ “ (August 2, 1982)
  * “ “ (August 19, 1982)
  * “ “ (September 7, 1982)
  * “ “ (October 31, 1982)
  * “ “ (November 4, 1982)
  * “ “ (January 8, 1983)
  * “ “ (February 14, 1983)
  * “ “ (April 1, 1983)
  * “ “ (May 25, 1983)
  * “ “ (July 31, 1983)
  * “ “ (September 3, 1983)
  * “ “ (December 8, 1983)
  * “ “ (April 21, 1984)
  * “ “ (June 5, 1984)
  * “ “ (July 30, 1984)
  * “ “ (October 31, 1984)
  * “ “ (December 25, 1984)
  * “ “ (February 7, 1985)
  * “ “ (May 4, 1985)
  * “ “ (July 30, 1985)
  * “ “ (October 31, 1985)
  * “ “ (December 25, 1985)
  * “ “ (April 2, 1986)
  * “ “ (July 31, 1986)

Burns [Stove]- (January 1, 1985)

  * " " (January 2, 1985)
  * " " (January 3, 1985)
  * " " (January 5, 1985)
  * " " (January 8, 1985)
  * " " (January 13, 1985)
  * " " (February 11, 1985)
  * " " (August 19, 1985)

Dog Bites- (December 23, 1984)

Vaccinations:

Dragon Pox (September 12, 1980)

Wizarding Flu (September 12, 1980)

Pixiethroat (September 12, 1980)

Healing spells and treatments:

Nappy Rash Ointment- Petunia Dursley (December 2, 1981) 

Set bone- Petunia Dursley (November 16, 1981)

Healing spell - Petunia Dursley (January 3, 1982) [PARTIAL FAILURE]

Current Illnesses:

Refeeding Syndrome

Malnourishment

Scoliosis

Anemia 

_ Date: 8/14/1986 _

* * *

Lily trembled, the paper showing the results in hand, fury exuding from her ever pore. Horror and anger mixed in equal parts, how dare they. _ HOW DARE THEY!? _ These wretched beasts don’t deserve death, she wouldn’t let them ever find peace. Harlynn will never so much as step foot in the same _ country _ as Albus Dumbledore so long as that miserable old fool lives in agony. How dare that man try and manipulate her son's life!? Those blocks and compulsions would have killed her son the day they activated, completely wiping his personality and leaving him a blank puppet. That fool would pay for even _ trying _, not to mention the casam he left in Harlynn’s mindscape and the abusive household he put Harlynn into. Oh, she could read in between those lines clearly. 

And _ Vernon._ That filthy Muggle scum will pay for everything he has done to her son! That bastard will suffer day in and day out when she was done with him. He’d be receiving the darkest ritual in the Evaritus Grimoire, a spell her father warned her was only reserved for the worst of humanity. She’d make him pay. She’d turn him into a _ true Freak _ something that would force him to live in the shadows, shunned by society until the end of Life herself. Lily would make them both suffer, and that was a promise, but she wouldn’t do it quickly. No, she’d drag out their misery for as long as she could, milking their suffering until they _ begged _ for the death she’d never allow.

The only good she could see in this was that her sister never laid a hand on her son, in fact, Petunia tried helping Harlynn early on. Lily wonders why her sister stopped, did she just stop caring or was there something deeper going on here? A flicker of hope sparked within her that her sister was redeemable. If her sister wasn’t… Well, the bitch could suffer along with her husband if she hurt Harlynn. 

Lily’s hands shook and no doubt her stomach would be doing somersaults if it was still functioning, as she swallowed back the lump in her throat. It was one thing to suspect her son had been abused, to suspect tampering with his mind. It was another to see the ugly truth printed in ink, exposing the horrors her son has survived through in their 5 long years apart. Even making his abusers suffer wouldn’t take away the pain ingrained into her son’s very soul, the realization had the tears she’d been choking back fall. She failed.

She was a failure of a parent, an awful mother. Curse James! Curse that whole blasted war! Lily never wanted any part of it, hell, she bloody agreed with the dark side! Their traditions and magic were dying, and Muggleborn wizards were exposing them. She didn’t agree that they needed to be killed, but the dark side had some points she agreed with. Lily only allied with Merlin damned Dumbledore because of James. She only stayed in Britain because of James. She only died in Godric’s Hollow instead of hiding in an Unplottable manor in Greece because of James. 

At the moment, Lily couldn’t help but hate her husband as she cried silently over a piece of parchment displaying her failures. As much as she tried to hate James, she knew all of this was on her. She could have left anyway. She could have done so many things to prevent this, but she hadn’t. And the results of her failures were in her hands.

“Mum?” a croaky groan cut through her self-loathing. Lily quickly cancelled her pity party to care for her son, with a quick look over the current illness she found the one that was most likely causing this. Refeeding Syndrome. She hardly knew what this was, she couldn’t do this alone. Without a second of hesitation, she scooped her son into her arms and opened a gate, racing through it to the one person who always knew how to make things better.

-

Severus let out a sigh of relief as he apparated into his dusty and decrepit house on Spinner’s End, peace at last. School may not be in session, but that doesn’t allow him any more free time. He has to write lesson plans for the new school year, go to staff meetings, and brew all the potions for the school hospital. Whoever said children were a joy was a bloody liar, they’re soul sucking monsters. At the very least he doesn’t have to deal with detentions, harebrained Gryffindors, or numbskulls blowing up cauldrons. He swears, if a Demetor ever tried to kiss him, they’d find no soul to suck after all these years of teaching children. 

He was only 26 and his whole life had gone down the drain. He’d fought for a cause he believed in, and got his only friend, _ his sister _ killed. He tried to fix things and sold his soul to Albus bloody Dumbledore and works in this nightmare. All those endless nights of cramming and sleepless nights to be the youngest to gain a Mastery thrown down the drain. He doesn’t even have time to invent anymore, and this was all his fault. He should have never listened to his roommates, never joined the Dark Lord. All it ended in was pain. 

Severus had only just sat down on his creaky couch and picked up a book when he heard the sound of a door slamming open violently. He jumped to attention, wand at the ready and pointing at the source. A boy materialized out of nowhere and hovered in the air several feet off the ground, he could tell even from a distance the boy was out cold. Accidental magic? Why would magic bring a boy here? He knows that when children are in peril, their magic will lash out or try to get them to safety, but why in Merlin’s name was he considered safety? 

He crept closer cautiously, his eyes narrowed. None of this made sense. The boy let out a groan as he grew closer, muttering incoherently, “Mum?” in a scratchy voice. Severus’ breath was taken away when those eyes landed on him, a bewitching green that haunted his dreams. “Lily,” he breathed. The boy relaxed when he heard the name, “You… know... my Mum..?” he slurred slowly, before coughing violently. Severus barely hesitated before grabbing the floating boy from his place hovering in the air and placing him gently on the sofa, fuelled by the knowledge this is Lily’s son. Screw James Potter, he was Lily’s and Severus wouldn’t let Lily’s son suffer.

Severus quickly ran a diagnostic charm on the boy, paling when he got the results back. Refeeding Syndrome, Malnutrition, and Anemia were all dangerous and spoke volumes to where Lily’s son has been since her death. He’s had students suffer Refeeding Syndrome after returning to Hogwarts from the Summer, always muggleborns. He knew how to treat it, but it was troubling to see in someone so young, especially when paired with the severe anaemia he also suffered. Any illness would be amplified and put him more at risk of death.

He couldn’t handle this alone, throwing a quick monitoring charm on the boy, Severus raced to the floo. Hurriedly tossing in the powder, he called “Malfoy Manor!” urgently. Thankfully, it was within moments that he was answered by a curious Lucius. “Whatever do you need, Severus? You never call on your days off.” he said in his usual refine drawl. Severus quickly cut through any small talk, “I need Narcissa immediately, it’s a medical emergency!” he barked urgently. Lucius nodded seriously, backing away from the fire. Severus got up and stepped back, not a moment too soon as Narcissa barrelled in with her medical supplies in hand. He swears this is the first time he’s ever seen her look less than perfect, face flushed and covered in soot.

Severus quickly lead her over to the couch, “He’s suffering from Refeeding Syndrome. He also has anaemia, putting him at further risk. You tend to him while I brew the potions needed.” he said curtly, Narcissa’s face hardened from its previous worry, slipping into the mindset of a trained healer. She gave him a short nod and got to work, casting a charm to clean and sterilize the area, making it cleaner than Severus had seen in years. He only spared a moment more to watch her work before heading to his potions lab, he had work to do. 

(Lily watched her friends work to help her son. She wasn’t truly scared of him dying for he was practically immortal until he hit 21, but she didn’t want him to suffer. Seeing their quick and easy movements helped settle the panic churning in her gut, she wanted to help him so desperately, but she’d only get in the way. Not for the first time since her death, she regretted every single one of her actions that lead up to her being helpless to save her son. Standing up straighter, she stiffened her spine as anger flared through her. Forget this damsel stuff, she had better things to do than pity herself, she needed to get revenge for her son. Drinking in one last long look at Harlynn, knowing that he’ll be safe in the hands of her friends, she opened a gate and disappeared.)

Severus raided his lab, first talking stock of the necessary potions he already had brewed. Thankfully as the school months were almost upon them, he had some of the potions for such cases already brewed. He took what he had over to Narcissa, wishing he could simply levitate them over, but all of them were volatile potions that would react badly to magic even in glass vials. He returned to his living room to find the area almost to the point he could recognize it, with house elves popping in to add different medical equipment. In the chaos, Narcissa had her hair tied back into a tight neat bun and was bustling around in more practical clothes than what she’d previously been wearing. He barely had time to wonder when in Merlin she had the time to do all of this before she rounded on him. “Do you have the potions? Bring them here.” she snapped out, before barking orders at the house elves to arrange things properly. 

Merlin help anyone that got in Narcissa Malfoy’s way when she was in Healer mode, Severus swears she’s more insane than _ Bellatrix _when she gets like this. And more likely to curse you as well. He left the potions on a stainless steel floating tray that followed Narcissa dutifully from a respectable but close distance. Severus quickly spun on his heel and left to finish the few potions he didn’t already have in stock. He wasn’t coward enough to lie that brewing was the only reason, no, he wanted to stay well out of Narcissa’s way lest he have his bollocks and eyes switch places.

-

Lily stepped out of the gate in her sister’s house, pleased to feel a certain presence within the walls. Good, her target was here. She wasted no time creating the glamour of her physical form, waiting until it was completely corporeal, to storm into the kitchen. Her eyes instantly landed on the waste of space that had so grievously harmed her son, the fat fuck was so large there was no way she _ wouldn’t _ see him. A glass shattered, “Lily?” she heard her little sister say distantly, but she only had eyes for Vernon.

“How dare you!” she hissed venomously, her green eyes glowing with her rage. Vernon stood, face turning red quickly. “‘How dare you?’, How dare you march into my house you freak!” he bellowed, uncowed by her fury. Lily stomped closer getting right into his face while immobilizing and silencing him in one move of her hand. “You utter bastard, I’ll damn you to a fate worse than death! _ Animam meam. Split. Soluere machinam. Perdere. _” she muttered darkly, looking straight into his fearful beady eyes with cruel glacial green ones.

Instantly he fell to the floor as she removed his binding, blood curdling screams leaving his mouth as he began to vomit blood. He hacked and heaved before finally, a heart came flying out of his mouth and landed on the floor with a wet squelch. Vernon screaming anew when he saw what had come out, hands flying to his chest only to find it still, no beating, no matter how hard he looked. “W-What have you done to me, you Freak!?” He screeched before blood and teeth began spilling out of his mouth as he shrieked in pain and choked on the liquid gushing out uncontrollably. 

“I told you,” she said simply, her voice calm and serene despite the blood and severed heart at her feet, “I was going to damn you to a fate worse than death. Congratulations Vernon Dursely, you are hereby immortal. Have fun living until the end of time as a Freak, a Freak so horrid and disgusting not even a Wizard will come within the same street as you. I think I may just report you to the Muggles, let them tear you apart to try and find what gave you this ‘gift’.” her lips quirked up to a wicked smile at the thought, enjoying the way he paled and his body shook in fear. 

“Why are you doing this?” he demanded, glaring up at her despite the fact he was quivering in terror. Lily smiled, she bent down and picked up his heart before crushing it mercilessly in her hand laughing in a merry tinkle at the way he doubled over in pain and screamed in agony. She threw it back onto the ground and stomped on it, grinding her heel with as much force as she could. His agonized screams were music to her ears, she screwed up her nosed when she smelt the pungent scent of urine but only laughed cruelly at his humiliation. 

Lily crouched down to his level, looking directly into his eye while wearing a bright cheerful smile. “Who am I? Why, I’m Harry’s mother. And I happen to know _ everything _ you did to him, now you’ll suffer every second and _ more _! Have fun with your cursed life, I’ll be checking in to make it more miserable every Holiday. There will be nowhere you run where I can’t find you, Death knows all.” she said ominously before turning and looking eyes with her shocked sister.

“Now, little sister. Let’s see if you’ll share your husband’s fate. _ Legilimency! _” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lisa- Number 6 girls name in the 1970's
> 
> Check out my tumblr for status reports and additional insight into little details in the fic @one-giant-gay-nerd
> 
> Kudos, Comments, and bookmarks keep the depression away, hit them if you enjoy my work lol


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ****CONTENT WARNINGS IN BEGINNING NOTES, PLEASE READ BEFORE READING THE ACTUAL CHAPTER!!!!**** (contains mild spoilers to level the severity so here's a more spoiler-free list but still mildly spoilery. Past rape/non-con, Gore, Torture, Abuse, Child porn.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay firstly, the chapter and this fic in general is getting some content warnings. Please don't read if this could possibly trigger or disgust you, I don't want to be responsible for making people feel bad emotions, I just want to tell the story I picture in my head. Yes these contain mild spoilers to the chapter, but I'd rather keep y'all safe from things that'll trigger you. 
> 
> \- Implied/referenced rape/non-con (there is no rape scene, but it is implied to have happened)  
\- Gore (Heavy Gore. I mean lots of Gore. Apparently I have an affinity for Gore.)  
\- Torture (Pretty heavy, but not quite as much as the Gore.)  
\- Domestic and child abuse (It's pretty front and center)  
\- Implied/referenced child pornography (yeah I really didn't like this one, but it was a direction that the story led me in. It's doesn't involve nudity, but it is the exploitation of a child for the sake of predators nonetheless.)  
\- Implied/referenced child predation (it goes hand in hand with the one above)
> 
> That's all I could think of, but if anything needs to be added please let me know. Also, I don't condone most of the subjects I write about. I just don't shy away from heavy topics, it's not in my nature to sugarcoat things. I'm pretty blunt when it comes to heavy topics, but I also really care about the people that suffer as a result of them, so please don't mistake that for me being callous. 
> 
> Anywho, thanks for all that stuck around to read even with the content warnings. I hope you'll like the upcoming weekly chapters.

“Now, little sister. Let’s see if you’ll share your husband’s fate.  _ Legilimency! _ ”

Lily didn’t quite tear her way into Petunia’s mind, she had a flicker of hope that her sister wasn’t a rotten person. If it proved otherwise, well, Lily could always rip herself out of Petunia’s mind in the most agonizing way she could before raining hell upon her sister. She had loved her sister, but she loved her son more than anything in the world, nobody could come between that. Ripping herself out of her thoughts, Lily honed in on what she was here for.

Lily pulled up memories surrounding what she wanted to know, instantly, she was watching a particularly loud memory that screamed for her attention, it flashed before her eyes like a film.

-

_ January 3, 1982  _

“-Vernon! Vernon, stop! You’re going to kill him!” Petunia shouted, trying hopelessly to pull her large husband away from the small crumpled form of her nephew. “Shut up Petunia! This Freak needs to pay. I will not tolerate freakishness in this household!” he said, not stopping his relentless attack on the defenceless child. Desperate to save her nephew, Petunia threw her body over his, curling around the small mangled body of her sister’s son protectively. 

She cried out when the blow slammed right into her shoulder blade full force, despite the pain it caused, she held her form hovering over Harry. If she faltered and her full weight crashed on top of the small toddler, it’d no doubt hurt him even further, or perhaps even kill the toddler. “Oh, so you want to take his place? If you don’t get up this instant,  _ you’ll _ be the one receiving the beating.” Vernon threatened menacingly despite the slurring of his words, his body swayed slightly in his inebriated state. His intoxication, however, didn’t seem to affect his aim, which he had used mercilessly to target Harry’s head, wanting to knock the Freakishness out of the toddler. 

Dudley scream shrilly at the top of his lungs when Petunia screamed out in pain, her son wailing and shrieking. Petunia’s blood ran cold when Vernon turned his attention onto her son, his face scrunched up in fury and annoyance. “Shut the hell up, before I make you!” he shouted at the toddler for wailing at the pain of his mother, if anything, the shouting only agitated Dudley more, as he screamed at the top of his lungs. Vernon made to advance on Dudley, her son, her baby, and Petunia panicked. 

“Stop. Stop. Stop! What do you want, take whatever! Just don’t hurt them!” Petunia sobbed, begging for the life of her children. And yes, Harry was her son, just as she promised Lily. If one of them were to die, they’d take in the other’s child and raise them as a mother. Now, Petunia was regretting ever making that promise, she couldn’t keep Lily’s son-  _ her  _ son safe. At first, it was only neglect, Vernon forbidding her to take care of Harry. She still did in the dead of night, trying her best to tend to him without getting caught. Then only a few days into his stay, Vernon broke the bones in Harry’s hand by crushing it after he summoned one of Dudley’s toys into his waiting hand. 

He broke Harry’s arm only less than a week after that incident, as punishment for Merlin knows what. There probably wasn’t a reason, Vernon had probably just wanted something defenceless he could hurt. -And now, only a month and a handful of days after Harry came into her care, he was at death’s door. Vernon had punched his head and face twice, stomped on his leg and arm, and was practically pissing himself to do more. Harry was hardly breathing, she had to strain her ears to hear it. Petunia doesn’t know if even magic could save someone so close to death.

“Anything, you say?” Vernon purred, his voice a disgusting slimy tone. Petunia sobbed and nodded her head, she’d do anything to keep them from dying. They were her family, the only things she had left after her father died, her mother was hospitalized, and Lily died. Now Petunia was all on her own with two children that depended on her and no way out of Vernon’s clutches, she was trapped. Petunia couldn’t let them die, never, she’d rather die first than have to bury one of her sons.

“So you’d be my cockslut in exchange for neither of your brats being six feet under?” He asked, voice lit with dark amusement. Petunia’s blood ran cold, revulsion running through her veins. To sleep with the monster that threatened the lives of the ones she loves, to be intimate with her jailer, the one that trapped her in this toxic marriage? The very thought had her wanting to throw up, but she had more important things to worry about. Like the faint breathing beneath her getting even more laboured, and the crying in the crib getting louder. Petunia nodded her head in defeat, “Yes.” she said simply.

Vernon gave her a dark smile before lumbering out of the nursery stating he was going to the pub, again. He didn’t leave, however, without giving her a piercing look with his beady eyes, “I’ll hold you to it, Pet.” Petunia shivered for all the wrong reasons, never has that nickname felt so wrong and dirty. The second the front door slammed shut, Petunia jumped into action even though she felt like curling up into a ball and crying. She cradled Harry delicately in her arms, tears spilling out at the sight of his broken face, bloody and bruised, and so, so small. She rushed him over to the cot next to Dudley’s crib, shushing her son gently while placing Harry gently onto the cot and taking the ruined pyjamas off of his body. 

Petunia wanted to vomit at the sight before her, the bone of his knee was sticking out and his head was bleeding profusely onto the white sheet on the cot, staining it red. His face was no better, his lip split, the skin around his eye completely black and when she gently lifted his lid to check his pupils, she saw the sclera of his eyes were completely red. This was so beyond what Petunia was capable of fixing, and going to a hospital was just asking for trouble. Tears in her eyes, Petunia did something she swore she’d never do again.

She used her magic.

Her weak magic swarmed over Harry, mending the worst of the damage as much as it could. Just as Petunia was hopeful that her magic may be enough to fix the damage, she felt a hand wrap around her neck. Her stomach fell to the floor as she felt hot breath fan against the side of her breath, smelling the strong scent of alcohol. “So you’re a Freak too? I should have known, you’ve been  _ lying  _ to me, Pet.” Vernon growled darkly, applying pressure to her neck making it hard for Petunia to breathe. Her magic faltered its quest to help her son, instead moving to try to protect her body.

“You know, I was going to be nice. Let you off easy and just have your fine body, but you  _ lied _ to me, Pet. For that, you don’t deserve easy. I’m not going to kill them, no I’ll make you pick which one suffers and which one is pampered. Every single time one is hurt and the other is doted on, you’ll have to live with the fact that it was your choice. So Petunia, who will be drawing the short end of the stick? Harry or Dudley?” he said sadistically. Tears fell from Petunia’s eyes, devastated at the consequences of her actions. She knew that using her magic would be a mistake! It always leads to misery to pain and misery, she was cursed just like her Mother said.

“Harry or Dudley.” Vernon repeated forcefully, squeezing his fingers wrapped around her throat tighter. “Take me,” she begged between her gasping breaths, her vision flickering and head getting lighter, as she tried to get his hand off. “It’s too late for that, Pet. Chose, or it will be both!” he snapped, finally releasing his hold on her throat to throw her face down into the floor. She lifted her head up, vision wavering, seeing the monster called her husband looking down on her with a wide smile and gleeful beady eyes. He lifted his hand up, silently counting down her small window of time to make a choice she absolutely didn’t want to.

His fingers got to one, “Harry!” she said, regretting it the second it was out of her mouth. Petunia was a monster. Harry had strong magic to save him, but her son was a squib like her, and he was younger than Harry. Her son wouldn’t survive, but Harry can, and she will do everything to help him. She still felt like scum for condemning her sister’s son to this fate, Lily would be rolling in her grave and beating the shit out of Petunia in the afterlife for letting this happen. She had little choice, both were disgusting options, she chose the one she hoped would keep them both alive. Hurt, but alive. Hopefully Hogwarts would take Harry far away from here, she’d just have to wait it out and protect him as much as she could.

Still, Petunia hung her head in shame, devastation bubbling within her. Despite all her reasoning to herself, it didn’t make her any less guilty. She did this. All of this was her fault. Harry was going to be tortured for 10 years until he reaches school age and it will all be her fault. This whole situation was her fault, she should have never ran away, never left the magical world in the first place. She should have never listened to the first person that gave her the first scrap of attention she had received in 7 years, should have never listened to his honeyed words and married him. She should have left as soon as he started hitting her, but she reasoned that he was only drunk, that he loved her the rest of the time. Then she was pregnant with Dudley, and she was officially trapped. Now here they are, and all the suffering that would come of her thoughtless choice was a direct result of her selfishness. 

Vernon left with a chuckle, but Petunia didn’t hear him. Instead, she sobbed, curled on the floor in front of the cot her injured nephew laid on. Her son wailed. This was all her fault. Petunia had never hated herself more than she has in that moment, wishing nothing more than to die if it meant saving her sons. But she couldn’t save them now, she did this. It was all her fault! 

The words repeated on an endless loop as she cried herself to sleep, curled up on the floor beside to cot. Her final thoughts before sleep took her was that she could never earn forgiveness from Harry, that he would be right to hate her. That she would let him hate her. It was nothing less than she deserved. She was the monster that condemned him to this fate.

-

_ August 14, 1986 _

Lily came out of her sister’s mind with a heavy heart, regretting every horrible thought and word she has ever directed at her little sister. Petunia hung her head, eyes filled with tears and her face already screaming that she thought Lily would scorn her. Lily instead pulled her little sister into a hug, Petunia flinched at the contact before wrapping her arms tightly around Lily and sobbing into her shoulder. Lily wrapped her magic around Petunia, expressing her regret and love in ways she couldn’t with words, also conveying her forgiveness and acceptance. Petunia sobbed even harder into her shoulder, burying her face into the crook of Lily’s neck.

Their sisterly bonding moment was interrupted by a hacking cough. A fury greater than Lily had ever felt before rose within her, spinning around she turned her eyes on the source of her family's pain. The one that tortured, abused, and raped her sister, and that abused her son to the point eating a plate of food made him ill. She said she would put him through a fate worse than death, but that was no longer enough, it needed to go further. Lily growled lowly, a dark and inhuman sound, Vernon’s fat neck snapped up, and he looked up at her in fear.

Lily waved her hand, levitating his heart towards her direction. Yes, she could cause him pain by damaging his heart, but it wasn’t enough. The worst curse in the Family Grimoire wasn’t enough to punish this man- no monster. Only the most forbidden ritual in the Necromancer Grimoire fits the crime this monster has committed, anything less wouldn’t be enough. Hell, the absolute darkest and most forbidden magic she knows doesn’t feel like enough. She’d just have to find ways to exacerbate the torture, to make his life as long and awful as she could. Even a thousand years on this Earth spent suffering didn’t feel like enough, nothing would ever undo the damage this monster has wrought. 

She summoned a ceremonial dagger, and stabbed it into the space where Vernon’s heart would be,  _ if  _ it was still within his chest, using her magic. Vernon screamed out in agony, she twisted the blade and pulled it out, summoning a vial of Basilisk Venom from her family vault. The venom was poured onto the dagger which absorbed it into the blade, taking the blood along with it. She casted Fiendfyre, controlling effortlessly even in her rage filled state, burning flames licking the blade of the dagger. The blade was on fire, a haunting unnatural green similar to the shade of the killing curse, one that flickered ominously and smelled of death. Next, she summoned a vile of Unicorn blood, unwillingly taken, pouring it into the fire which roared upward, green turning black. Finally, she summoned an urn full of Phoenix ashes, collected forcefully after a burning day. The burning blade reacted the second it was dunked into the ashes, an explosion of ash flying out as the urn shattered and flew in all directions. The dagger, which has started a gleaming silver was now a black so dark it was like looking into the void. 

Lily breathed raggedly now that she had completed the cursed blade, tired from all the magic she poured into it in order to keep each step from reacting improperly and ruining the entire process. Vernon was watching it with his mouth gaping wide and his hand over the hole were his heart would be, too in shock to even feel the pain anymore. That would soon change. Lily plugged the cursed dagger straight through the heart, jamming it in to the hilt. Vernon screamed at an unholy level, writing on the floor as his skin melted off, his blood boiled, and his internal organs bloated within his body and pressed against his skin pushing outwards.

“Lady Magic, Lady Life, Lord Chaos. I call upon thee to pass judgement upon the Muggle known as Vernon Jeremiah Dursley. The Muggle has spilled the blood of Death’s chosen, has done twisted and wretched things to children and women. He has committed every sin punishable by having his soul extinguished, but that would be too great a mercy for such a monster. My Ladies and Lord, pass your divine punishment upon the accused, weigh his soul and punish his actions. So mote it be.” Lily said darkly, glowing green eyes locked straight onto Vernon’s terrified and pained face. It wasn’t enough.

A gust blew powerfully through the room, despite it being indoors. A voice floated through the room, a rich tone feminine that screamed power. “He has spilled the blood of my children. He has punished my gift. He has suppressed my gift within my children. Muggle Vernon Jeremiah Dursley is guilty on all counts, and should be punished to the fullest extent of magic. So I say, So mote it be.” Vernon screamed in agony when the words were finished, a purple haze surrounding him before piercing deep within his skin into his very soul, ripping its way through.

A second wind blasted outward as the breeze of Lady Magic’s voice faded. A new voice was heard, angry and dark, also female. “For your crimes against life itself, I judge you guilty of all stated and more! Immortal life is far too good a gift for a monster such as you, but as you will be punished the entire time, I shall allow the besmirching of my gift. For your actions, I condemn you to never know peace, your life will be filled with misery, one tragedy after the other with no reprieve. Not a single good thing shall ever happen to the Muggle Vernon Jeremiah Dursley so long as he lives, when I reclaim this planet and therefore his soul, he shall be punished in death. My word has been spoken, So mote it be.” Vernon showed no physical reaction beyond his flinching at the otherworldly voice, paling at her every word, even as his legs spasmed.

Like both times before, a gale of wind smashed through the room, this time rattling the windows with its force. This voice, unlike the two before it, was male, it was whimsical and happy yet so cruel and dark. “Ah no fun, my sisters already did all the fun things along with little Lily flower here~ Hm… what to do…” the voice said, in no way as professional and divine as his apparent sisters, “Oh! I know just the thing!” he exclaimed happily, before his voice became sharp and deadly as a viper’s venom. 

“I Lord Chaos, hereby decree that the Muggle Vernon Jeremiah Dursley shall waste away in pain and agony. No food shall ever reach his stomach, water shall burn his skin, sunlight will strip his flesh down to the bone. I condemn you to a life full of solitude, for you should never inflict your presence upon another innocent so long as you live. Everyone to ever help or participate in your atrocities will confess to their actions and be cast out from society. So I will it, So mote it be.” his voice left with a demented giggle that echoed eerily through the silent house

Petunia’s body pressed against Lily’s back, her form shaking. “Wh-what was all of that! And am I included in what Chaos said,” she asked nervously. Lily turned around to face her sister properly, ignoring the parasite behind her, looking straight into the glassy wide blue-green eyes of her sister. “No Petunia, never. All of that was justice for you. It was justice for Har’, and for Dudley. It was justice for our family. You deserve nothing less after what you have suffered through.” Lily said in a gentle sincere voice, sending waves of love through her magic and wrapping it protectively around her little sister. Petunia mustered up a shaky and weak smile, “I’m really not worth forgiving, you only saw a single memory. I’m as bad as he is.” she said with shame and conviction in her voice.

Lily shook her head, holding her sister tight once more. “No Petunia, you are a good person. Good people do bad things when they are pushed against a wall, no human is pure and perfect. You’re such a good person Petunia, I’m so sorry we ever drifted away. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you from him.” she whispered into her sister’s blonde hair, words meant only for her little sister. Petunia clutched onto her tightly, her body trembling, but she said nothing as she soaked in the warmth of her sister. 

“I’m going to take you away from here, and you’ll never have to come back to this prison again.” Lily said reassuringly, only her words caused Petunia to shoot up, panic written across her face. “Where’s Dudley, what about him?” she demanded, voice several octaves higher with fear. A thump sounded from behind the side door of the kitchen, Petunia turned to it slowly petrified. “D-Dudders?” she asked, voice trembling along with her body. The door opened slowly, the hinge squeaking as the pudgy red face of her 6-year-old son was revealed, his eyebrows were scrunched in confusion at all he had overheard.

He quietly asked, in a tone weak and strained with confusion and fear, “Is daddy a bad person?”. Petunia made a sound like a dying cat, frozen in the face of her son. Lily didn’t hesitate, however, nodding with a scowl but her words were not unkind, “Yes, he is a very bad man. He hurt your Mum, and he hurt my son. He was hurting you too, you just can’t see it yet.” 

Dudley’s eyes widened at the words from the red-headed woman, apparently Harry’s Mum and his Aunt. He turned his eyes from the two women to his father for the first time, his face turning white and his stomach rebelling at the sight before him. His skin was melted off, gathering into a chunky liquid mixed with blood and urine on the floor. Vernon’s eyes were hollowed out and his jaw gone, letting an uncontrollable stream of chunky liquid mixed with blood fall out of the open source. His bloated stomach was ripped wide open, guts spilling out, and his legs were unattached from his body, his pants had been melted away revealing blackened rotting flesh. 

The more he saw the more horrifying it got, he quickly lost control of his stomach and threw up, shaking from the sight he had seen. His dad was a bad man, he hurt people, but did he deserve that? No TV show could prepare him for the gore before him, the scent of decaying flesh, urine, blood, and feces. Taking in the putrid smell and imagining the image that had been burned into his eyelids had him throwing up all over again, tears in his eyes. If his dad was bad, did that mean he was too? He was mean to Harry, does that mean Harry's Mum will do the same thing to him.

Dudley was shaking, and he screamed bloody murder when a hand touched him. His Mum was looking at him with hurt and sadness in her eyes, she backed away from him, but kept her body shielding him from the sight. Not that it would work, the sight would stay with him for the rest of his life. “I’m sorry Dudley,” Petunia said, voice breaking the heavy silence in the room, “All of this is my fault. You shouldn’t have seen this, none of this should have happened in the first place! I’m so sorry.” she said, words breaking off into sobs as she fell to the floor. 

A spark of realization shot through Dudley, his mum was crying the same way she does when she thinks he was asleep. He heard her crying with Harry’s Mum and that sounded different, it was softer and lighter. This one was the heavy wracking sobs that shook her whole body, the ones loud enough to be heard a room away. Every time his Mum cried, was it because she thought that all of this was her fault? 

Dudley didn’t understand everything that was going on, but he knew one thing down to his very bones, his Mum was not to blame. His Mum was a good person, and his dad was a bad person, Dudley isn’t sure what he is right now, but he wants to be good like his Mum. He placed a pudgy little hand on her shoulder, and her head snapped up, her red and glassy eyes looking into his. Yeah, Dudley picks his Mum. She’s loved and cared for him since forevvverrr, and he can feel in his gut that it will never change. “Don’t cry, Mum.” he said softly, patting her head with the hand not on her shoulder, just as she does when he’s hurt. 

Petunia’s eyes filled with tears as she pulled Dudley close, hugging him tightly. “I love you so much, Dudley.” she whispered, pressing a kiss into his dirty blonde hair. Lily cleared her throat lightly, breaking up the reconcile, “I’m really sorry to interrupt, but we should leave. I’ll take you away and you’ll never have to return, any possession you want can be brought over later.” she said lightly, opening a gate beside them.

Both startled at the sudden appearance of an ornate door. It opened on its own, beckoning them inside. Lily came close, taking Petunia’s hand in one of her own, and Dudley’s in the other as she guided them into it. She sent a final vicious look at the meat sack responsible for so much pain, banishing the disgusting body somewhere he’d be at home with a single twitch of her finger. With a smirk, she stepped into the gate, the door slamming shut with a resounding bang, leaving a bloody crime scene and abandoned house. All was still on Number 4 Privet Drive, a smooth wall stretching across the space a cupboard once was, and a severed heart waiting safely in a vault for further use.

-

Jennifer huffed out a sigh, annoyed at her haul so far. This whole trip had been a total bust! Usually she could scavenge at least a backpack full of electronic parts people just throw away, she’s already combed through numerous large piles of trash and found nothing thus far. She was walking past another mound when something caught her attention, it smelled absolutely putrid, the vile scent overpowering even in the stench of an entire bloody dump. Her curiosity was piqued, what could possibly have such a strong smell? 

She carefully scaled the mound with the skill of someone who has been doing so for years, she heard rustling and startled when something darted past him, noticing in retrospect it looked like a mangy dog. Jennifer put a hand to her heart, trying to calm the racing thumps, that was close, she almost lost her balance in her fear. Shaking off the last dregs of her fight or flight response, Jennifer continued on, following her nose towards whatever had caught her attention in the first place. 

Jennifer reached the peak and her eyes scanned around, looking for the source of this mystery. Her eyes landed on something strange, in was shaped oddly, unlike most things she’s grown familiar with seeing in her expeditions. Never one to be cowed, she continued onward, creeping towards the strange form. It was only a few feet into her trek when her suspicions were confirmed that the weird thing was the source. Jennifer fleetingly mused that she could be finding an alien or some other supernatural creature, which only fuelled her eager curiosity. 

The teen pinched her nose as she got closer, God, it was awful. Her nose literally burned with the scent, it made her eyes water in pain. Still, Jennifer refused to give up, not before she sees whatever this was. She’d regret it her entire life, always wondering, forever in the dark as to whatever this thing was. 

Finally, Jennifer reached the thing. It was sort of fleshy coloured, and she wondered if maybe it was one of those punching dummies. She poked it with her foot screaming at the top of her lungs when it groaned, and a skeletal hand grabbed her ankle. Jennifer stomped on it viciously screaming, panic and adrenaline running through her. She reached into her backpack, grabbing the spiked bat she kept in it for deterrent for any punks that may try to mug her, swinging her bat down. The thing screamed in agony, and it was a bloody man’s voice! 

It turned on its own, exposing a horror that nothing could ever hope to capture. Every horror movie she’d ever seen didn’t hold a candle to the fear that chilled her very blood. It was almost zombie-like, in the way the human skull had been stripped of muscle, flesh, and even bone in random splotches. There was a gaping wound where a heart should be, and its stomach was split wide open, the innards have bites out of them, Jennifer pieces together feeling ill at the realization, that it must have been what the dog had been snacking on. There were no legs, just blackened stumps. The arms that had grabbed her was completely clean of skin from the fingers to forearm, but beyond that, the skin hung like a loose saggy sweater from exposed bones. 

Jennifer took a step back, bile crawling up her throat. There was no other word for this thing other than a monster. She refused to play into the tropes of every horror movie ever, she’s already cursing herself for doing the stupid things that always lead to people getting killed. She booked it back to safety, uncaring that her legs were getting attacked by the trash surrounding her, her ankles protesting when she jumped onto the floor from several feet high. She ran as fast as she could, thankful that she wasn’t weighed down by the parts that she could have had if she  _ had _ been successful.

She made it outside the entrance of the dump, but she didn’t stop running until she made it to a more populated street. Collapsing onto the floor, chest heaving. Shakily, she looked at her bat. There was a substance oozing down the wood between the nails, a piece of flesh punctured onto one of the nails. Her body trembled. It was real. It was all real. There was undeniable proof within her very hands that what she had seen had been reality. 

Not hesitating for a single moment, she ran towards the police station. Her brother was a cop, even if the rest didn’t take her seriously, her brother knew she wasn’t a liar. That whatever could frighten her, who usually laughed in the face of danger and fear,  _ had  _ to be something real. And she had proof, something that they could test, hopefully even analyze the DNA on it, if it was even human. 

Throwing the door open, she was surprised to see it bustling, cops racing around like hummingbirds flitting back and forward. Never had Jennifer seen the Surrey police department so full, normally it was a ghost town with barely any activity. Even the desk workers weren’t spared, they had stressed looks on their faces as they answered phone call after phone call struggling to stay on top of it all. Jennifer saw her brother passing by and grabbed his arm, he turned around to face her, hand reaching for his baton. She was shocked, usually her brother was less than attentive, a more laid-back cop and not quick to violence, really just a gentle giant all together.

“Daniel?” she asked warily, and that seemed to break the spell, he shook his head and blinked rapidly before groaning and rubbing a hand against his face. He looked more worn out than she’s ever seen, tired, weighed down by and invisible burden she couldn’t see. “Jennifer,” he says wearily, “What do you need. Does Mom need me to come home or something? Because we’re too busy right now, as you can see, it’s all hands on deck.” Daniel said dryly waving a hand at the station that seemed to be in a constant state of motion, never stopping for even a single moment. 

Jennifer wanted to question why they were so busy, but decided it could wait for later, instead she presented the bat to her brother. He took it carefully and scrutinized it, his nose scrunching in disgust when he caught a whiff of the horrid smell, he has no idea just how bad the source was. “I was at the dump,” she received an instant look of disapproval from her brother which she ignored to continue her story, “I couldn’t find anything of use, but then, I smelled something weird. It was so strong it cut through the general stink of the whole junkyard, so I followed it to where it was coming from.” her voice started to shake as she remembers the monster that was burned into her retina, she’d never forget it. 

“There was this  _ thing _ , it was fleshy coloured and weirdly shaped, so I thought maybe it was a dummy for punching or whatever. When I got closer, poked at it, and it turned around. It was like a man, if he had been dunked into acid and had his body totally decayed. He had this huge hole where a heart would be, this large slit down his fat stomach spilling out his internal organs which a dog had been eating. I would have thought it was a dead body, if it wasn’t for the fact it  _ grabbed _ me, and it groaned.” she said, her brother looked skeptical but didn’t completely write her off. “I hit it with the bat a few times before running away,” she kneeled down as an idea came to her. 

Jennifer didn’t notice it in the shock of everything, but her ankle burnt like it was on fire now that she had time to process it, in the exact area that thing grabbed her. She rolled up the cuffs of her jeans and her brother hissed, crouching to examine the wound. It was the shape of a man’s hand, but thinner, skeletal, a perfect imprint burned into her skin with an angry red hot mark. “I know it’s hard to believe, but it was real! Can you just like, run DNA testing on the flesh on the bat? See if it was human or some other creature. I know that it was real, but I want tangible proof, I have evidence but that isn’t enough.” she said.

Daniel looked worn down again as his shoulders sagged, “I don’t know if I can do that. By the time we have everything in control, this sample would probably already have been contaminated to the point of corruption. I can try Jennifer, and I believe that you saw  _ something _ but I’m not sure about what you are describing.” he said bluntly, Jennifer nodded, somewhat hurt but understanding of the situation. Just then, a man who was passing by stopped dead in his tracks, so far during their conversation people were rushing all around them, moving around the two who were stationary in the chaos. 

The man’s hair was a mess, he was looking at the bat with something akin to horror and panic in his eyes. “How did you get that?” he questioned, his face pale. Jennifer was wary, but told the cop of her encounter, during which his face continued to pale until it was chalk white. “What do you know?” she said sharply, and he flinched back before shaking his head. “This thing could be a danger, it could hurt other people.” she hedged.

Finally, the man let out a little sigh before his eyes darted around for anyone listening. “I was a first responder to the raid on the Dursley house,” he said and Daniel let out a little hiss, to which the cop nodded wearily to, “The kitchen, God, the kitchen. It was like a murder scene, blood absolutely everywhere, there were teeth and skinned flesh in the puddle. There were also a pair of legs that were black from necrosis, they  _ fell  _ off the body cleanly at the thigh. It was horrific. All of it was identified as belonging to Vernon Dursley, but we couldn’t find a body.” he said in a hushed haunted tone. 

There was silence. Jennifer looked back at her sludge on her bat, it didn’t look like human blood, it was tainted with a blackish colour, it also didn’t clot like human blood, it just slowly advance down her bat, the thick substance sluggishly dripping down. “Sh-should we go see it? I know what I saw, but maybe I was mistaken because of the shock of the dead body.” Jennifer’s voice was doubtful when she spoke of being wrong, but she conceded that it was far fetched, and she wouldn’t believe her friend if they came and told her this strange story of a monster. 

The man- Micheal, as his name tag he finally turned enough for her to see clearly, had on it- bit his lip. “We don’t have the manpower, there’s so many interrogations and arrests going on all at once. We’re all so overwhelmed, and on top of that we’re trying to not document it wrong and risk people walking free. There isn’t any officers we could spare, but this evidence could help clarify things, and it make or break some cases.” Micheal muttered, clearly weighing the options in his mind. Finally, he nodded slowly, “Yes, we’ll go find the body. Us and 3 others, that’s the most we can spare, but we’ll still need to be quick.” 

“Steven! Scott! Kevin, we need your assistance!” Micheal shouted loudly over the buzzing den of activity. Three men made their way over, weaving their way through the crowds to get to them. Scott had a coffee in his hand and looked disgruntled at being interrupted, while Kevin had a case file still in his hand and was looking it over. “We have a lead on the location of the Dursley body, we’re going to check it out then come back.” all three of them snapped to attention, from the way their faces paled, Jennifer knew they had also seen the horrible sight Micheal described. 

It was a short trip to the junkyard, Jennifer leading the way with her brother sticking close to her side a flashlight in hand. She led them down the path she had taken, and it wasn’t long before they could all smell the odor. They navigated up the mound one at a time, and Jennifer led them towards where she vividly remembered it being. She saw the thing, but it had  _ moved _ . Visibly moved, as it had left a trail of human skin that peeled off in its wake, it was also upside down once more. Jennifer gulped, her heart racing at the sight of what could only be a monster, she doesn’t care what they say, that thing was alive.

Scott cautiously approached and turned it over by the shoulder, immediately recoiling in disgust. It had gotten worse in her short time away, the toothless exposed jaw had entirely detached leaving a hole from which you could see its flopping tongue. The nose had also disappeared, leaving yet another hole in its face, the innards were also less inside the body and more on a pile beneath it. Jennifer could faintly hear Steven vomiting in the background, but Jennifer didn’t look away, scared if she took her eyes from it, it would attack her.

Jennifer gestured for Scott to get away which he reluctantly did, allowing her to come close. She prodded at it, and expectedly, or perhaps unexpectedly- the hand made a swipe for her which she stumbled back to avoid. She hit arm with her bat with enough force that the hand snapped off, the thing screamed, it was a horrid gurgling sound and its tongue lolled as it hung free. “Holy shit.” Daniel swore. Jennifer didn’t know why, but something in her loathed this thing, now that the fear has settled she felt hatred so strong it surprised her. She’s never been the type to hate others, she always accepts people for who they are, she always thought if she met an alien or something strange she wouldn’t be hostile.

“Hey Dan?” Jennifer said as she circled around the body, keeping well out of reaching distance. Her brother made a noise to continue, “Micheal said that this may be connected to the Dursley case, but just what did he do? I heard you say that his house was raided, that doesn’t happen like-  _ at all _ , not in Surrey anyway.” she spoke, her eyes narrowed on the thing. Something felt wrong about all of this, she felt in her gut that something was wrong. 

Daniel looked at the thing with cold eyes and a stoic expression, after a moment of silence, he spoke. “Vernon Dursley was a horrible man. A wife-beater, child abuser, and rapist. There is also evidence of embezzlement and theft from the company he works in. His case is connected to child pornography. He produced some himself, and though it didn’t involve nudity, he beat his six-year-old nephew black and blue and took pictures. One person claimed that he had forced his wife into marriage, all around he was scum.” 

Steven sighed, running a hand through his dirty blonde hair as he looked towards the surrounding garbage instead of the gory sight before them. “It was the strangest thing,” he started, “All these people came out of the woodworks. By the dozens people were calling or coming to the police station, they would just confess their crimes. Some were mild, a teacher not acting on seeing bruises and believing a cover story, others ignored all the screaming from the house. Then there were the rapists, child predators, abusers, and full on  _ murderers _ that were in league with or somehow tied to him. We decided to raid the source, and well, we found the scene of where that,” he gestured at the body, “happened.” 

Jennifer snarled, she was right all along. It was a monster. She refused to even acknowledge the pile of shit before her as a human, even if it was once alive. With an almighty swing, she hurled her bat straight into what had once been a face, satisfied when she heard a loud crack and gargled scream. “Jen! What are you doing?” Daniel exclaimed, Jennifer ignored her brother, taking a step back to observe her work. Her bat had been wedged deeply into the thing which twitched and moved as much as it could in pain, the thick blood-like substance it had, dripped out in droves. “Nothing less than it deserves.” she said coolly.

Daniel took a step forward, his eyebrows furrowed. “Jenny, this isn’t like you.” he said, voice concerned. Jennifer sent a glare at her brother before gesturing at the thing in front of them, “Does that deserve anything less than hate from me?! Think about Brian! He’s the same age as the nephew, imagine our brother in his place. Think out our baby brat, broken and taken advantage of. If anything  _ you  _ aren’t reacting enough!” she screamed, waving her hands wildly. After her outburst, she heaved in breaths, looking at her brothers shocked face. 

Micheal piped in, cutting the oncoming argument off. “This is a waste of time, we need to take it in and identify the identity and if it is even human. We need to get back to the station, they can’t afford 5 officers gone because of a petty argument.” he said sharply, but his voice was tired underneath it. This took all the wind out of Jennifer’s sails as she sagged, eyes pained. “I just can’t stop thinking if it was our family. Mum stuck under his thumb, Brian in agony, and Dan and I are helpless to stop it all. It just won’t stop playing out in my head!” she admitted quietly. When she closes her eyes, she could almost picture the scene.

Daniel gave her a hug and gently guided her away from the body, “You shouldn’t be here, Jen. It’s messing with your head.” he said softly, and Jennifer didn’t fight him when he told her to leave, and that he would handle it. She needed to go home and make sure her Mum and brother are okay. Jennifer left with a heavy heart, empty backpack, and one bat down. She didn’t look back at the junkyard once as she determinedly walked back to her house, she needed to see for herself that they were fine, to quiet all of her fears.

Daniel watched her go with a grim expression before returning to the group, “Okay, we better get this to the station.” he said. None of them really wanted to touch the gruesome and disturbing sight, but they awkwardly picked it up while it struggled. Jennifer, thankfully, had broken both of the arms so they hung limply and were unable to leave those burns as they did on her ankle. They got it into the trunk, having nowhere else to put it, and drove carefully so it wouldn’t fall out, seeing as they couldn’t close the hatch. While in the car, they reported their findings, and when they arrived at the station they were met with a team of Forensic Scientists along with several of the detectives on the case. 

All were disturbed not only by the sight, but by the evidence it was somehow still alive. They carted it away to the bigger lab, the precinct was crowded enough anyways, there was no way they could properly investigate whatever the hell was happening on location. Daniel watched the van drove away with a sinking feeling in his gut, he had a suspicion that this was all just the beginning. Sighing, he looked away and followed the others back into the station, they had work to do. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for a shorter chapter than usual, but this has been a very bad week for me. I barely even managed to get it all fixed up by today.


	4. Not a chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This goes out to all the guests that read my works

There is an app called Fanfic Pocket Archive Library that steals fics from ao3 for profit. I just write for fun and as an outlet for my Clinical Depression, so it really pisses me off to see someone profit off of my ideas and hours of work. Until further notice my works will be locked so that only ao3 users can veiw them. This will be put in place a week from today as a fair warning to guests. I hate to do this but I'm not letting them steal from me and my friend that I collabed with. Many authors will more than likely also lock down their works as well to prevent further theft. 

In other news. Sorry for the lack of updates, but I'm getting my life back together. I've decided what High school I'm going to attend and picked all my classes. I've also chosen my career path as either a Zoologist or Veterinarian so I'm focusing more on school. Last year I couldn't see myself making it to 20 but now I have plans and dreams I want to put into action. I'll get back to posting when my life has settled down enough to write again. Thank you for your continued support. 


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